The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-26 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

Her Majesty's ironclad ram corvette, Pallas, of 6
guns, built from the designs of Mr. Reed, Chief
Constructor of the Royal Navy, returned from
Woolwich to Greenhithe, on Saturday, after accom-

plishing a preliminary run down the river, the ob

ject of the trial being to ascertain how far the or
dinary relations of the pitch of screw to the section
and displacement of the ship might require modifi-
cation under the peculiar circumstances in which
this remarkable vessel has been constructed to
meet the requirements of the age, and in which so
many of the ordinary conditions of a ship have
been departed from. The Pallas, although in a
very incomplete state, was undocked for this
purpose on Thursday, and was taken to Gravesend,
from which placed she started on Friday morn-
ing for the Nore, in charge of Commander Luke,
of the Woolwich Steam Reserve. Capt. Connolly,
who has been recently appointed to the flagship
Fisgard for the command of the Pallas, and several
other officers of the Royal Navy, including Com-
mander Reed, of the hydrographic service, were
likewise present. The engines, which are by Messrs.
Humphrys and Tennant, having been found to work
smoothly and satisfactorily, the ship was taken into
Sheerness harbour on Friday evening. On Satur-
day morning the proposed trials were carried out,
under the official inspection of the constructor of
the ship, the engine-builders, and the inspectors of
machinery at the steam factory at Woolwich Dock-
yard. During a portion of the day the ship was
found to be steaming at nearly 13 knots per hour,
with 64 revolutions of the engines per minute,
leaving but little doubt that when the engines are
driven as they are rated to be, at from 70 to 75
revolutions, a speed will be realised exceeding that
of any wooden corvette or frigate in the navy. The
Pallas proved herself firmly built and free from
vibration under steam. Her course was completely
changed, and the "'bout ship" was effected by per-
forming a perfect circle under the action of her
rudder in two minutes and ten seconds. The Com-
modore-Superintendent and the Master-Attendant
of Woolwich Dockyard attended the course of trial
at the measured mile off the Maplin Sands in the
Admiralty yacht Vivid. The remarkable plough-
ing motion made by the huge prow of the Pallas
was a subject of much discussion on board. It was,
however, the general opinion that the working of
the engines was in no way impeded by it. The
steady and undisturbed buoyancy of the ship, espe-
cially during the change of course from one direc-
tion to the opposite one, when an unpleasant
rocking rand wavering is ordinarily experienced,
was favourably verified. On returning towards
Greenhithe her speed was slackened off Sheerness
to enable those on board to witness the departure
of the Great Eastern from her moorings, where
she has received the whole of the Anglo-American
telegraph wire. She was at that moment steaming
off, preceded by the surveying vessel Porcupine and
some attendant tugs, to take up a new berth about a
mile from the shore, where she will have ample room
to swing and at the same time have a ready com-
munication with the shore.
The Admiralty have ordered her Majesty's ships
Terrible and Sphynx, and the Great Eastern steam-
ship, to be fitted with Commander Colomb's flash-
ing signal apparatus, as now in use on board the
ships of the Channel Fleet ; and Sir Sydney C.
Dacres, K.C.8., the Commander-in-Chief of the
fleet, is directed to have signalmen selected from
the ships of the fleet, and sent to the Terrible,
Sphinx, and Great Eastern to work the signalling
apparatus during the time those vessels are occupied
in laying the Atlantic Telegraph. Commander
Colomb is now attached to the Edgar, screw line-
of -battle ship, the flagship of the Channel squadron,
for special duties connected with the permanent
adoption of his system of signalling on board her
Majesty's ships. It is now under trial in the navies
of France, Russia, Austria, Prussia, Denmark,
Sweden, and Italy, and the squadron which recently
conveyed the remains of the late Czarewitch to
Cronstadt from the Mediterranean wa§ also 'fitted
with it. The system has on several occasions been
noticed in The Sun, under the head of " Naval and
Military Telegraphy," in connexion with the expe-
rimental signalling conducted between Portsmouth
Dockyard and the Channel by Commander Colomb,
R.N., and Capt. Bolton, R.E., the lime light being
used on shore and a plain white light at sea. Its
main features may be said to be based upon the
printing telegraph, which delivers its printed mes-

The hired sailing troopship Rosslin Castle, Com-
mander Davidson, arrived at Spithead yesterday
from India, with invalided soldiers from her Ma-
jesty's army on service in India. She sailed from
Calcutta on Feb. 19, and called in at St. Helena on
May 4. The invalids will be disembarked from the
ship this morning, under the supervision of the
military authorities of Portsmouth garrison, and
conveyed by Government steam tender to the Royal
Victoria Military Hospital at Netley.
The Griffon, 5, screw gun vessel, 425 tons, 80-
horse power, which arrived in Sheerness harbour on
Tuesday last, from the West Coast of Africas has
been taken into the basin at Sheerness dockyard to
be dismantled, previous to being paid out of com-
mission. The Griffon was fitted out in this port in
June, 1861. She has since been successfully em-
ployed in the suppression of the slave traffic on the
West Coast of Africa. The crew, for the most part,
have been healthy, and the whole of the officers have
returned who went out in her, a fact of very rare
occurrence. Captain Perry received his promotion
previous to the ship being paid off.
The transport Alumbagh, Capt. G. E. Bulmer,
chartered by Messrs. Gellatly, Hankey, and Sewell
to the Lords of the Admiralty, took her departure
from Queenstown for the Cape of Good Hope on
Thursday, and had a fine easterly wind, which would
carry her clear of the land before dark. Thefollowing
detachments embarked—Royal Engineers, 3 officers
105 men : 67th Foot, 6 officers 82 men ; 2d Batta-
lion, sth Foot, 3 officers 49 men; 96th Foot, 1 officer
and 1 staff sergeant ; 90th Foot, 6 officers 76 men ;
Cape Riflemen, 2 men ; Army Hospital Corps, 9
men, besides the families of the above, the whole
being in charge of Capt. Stevens, of the 67th Regt.,
the Rev. J. Quinn, chaplain, and Staff Assist.-Surg.
Rose, in medical charge. The ship was inspected by
the general in command of the troops and Col. Fox
on behalf of the military, and by Mr. Erle, agent
of transports, on behalf of the Admiralty. The
Alumbagh has also been engaged for the convey-
ance of about 4 officers and 200 men, women, and
children from the Mauritius, and East London,
Cape of Good Hope, to Gravesend.
On Thursday last a court martial was held at
Sheerness on board her Majesty's ship Formidable,
flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir C. Talbot, to inquire
into the conduct of Lieut. Cooper, commanding her
Majesty's gunboat Herring, and the officers and
crew, in running that gunboat aground on Mickery
Island, in the Firth of Forth, on May 25, 1835.
The court was composed of the following officers :
—Capt. Pulford (president), of H.M.S. Cumber-
land; Capt. M'Donald, of H.M.S. Arethusa; Capt.
Keane, of the Naval Barracks ; Capt. Johnson, of
Pembroke ; and Capt. Perry, of H.M.S.
Griffon. Mr. Knight, of the firm of Essell, Knight,
and Arnold, Admiralty solicitors, Rochester, acted
as Deputy Judge-Advocate. Evidence was given by
Lieut. Cooper, commanding officer of the Herring,
E. Roberts, the seaman who took the soundings,
Staff-Commander Brown, of H.M.S. Formidable,
and W. Hardy, harbour master at Granton, Scot-
land, the pilot who inspected the reef on which the
vessel grounded. It appeared that the gunboat was
acting as tender to her Majesty's ship Trafalgar,
stationed at Queensferry, and was returning
from Leith to Queensferry when she accidentally
struck on a reef, which was not correctly laid down
in the Admiralty chart—it extending about 120 feet
farther than marked. Certificates showing that
Lieut. Cooper had borne a high character during a
period of 17 years were read to the Court, and it
was likewise stated he is a member of the Legion of

Honour in France and the Turkish Order of tho
Medjid. The Court found that Lieut. Cooper had
committed an error in judgment in approaching
the southern end of the island at an ebb tide, and
admonished him to be more careful for the future ;
no blame whatever was attached to the rest of tho
officers or the crew.

At the conclusion of the above a court-martial,
consisting of the same officers, was held on Mr. F.
C. Belson, acting engineer of her Majesty's ship
Antelope, which arrived at Sheerness a few days since
from the West Coast of Africa, for being drunk on
the 30th of May last, while the ship was at Madeira,
for being drunk on the 16th inst. at Sheerness, and
for being incapable of performing his duty on the
16th inst. Evidence in support of the charges was
given by Mr. Alfred Thomas, acting master of the
Antelope, Mr. John Hide, assist.-surg., Mr. R. M.
Griffith, Mr. George Stupple, and Mr. Thomas
Friend. Mr. Goolden, of Bristol, acted as the pri-
soner's " friend." The prisoner admitted he had
been drinking beer on both occasions, but was not
incapable of doing his duty. Certificates of charac-
ter extending over a period of seven years were put
into court and read. The Court considered all three
charges proved, and sentenced the prisoner to forfeit
all his seniority as acting engineer and to be severely
reprimanded.
A third court-martial, composed of the same
officers, was held on Mr. Frederick Wheeler, engi-
neer, in charge of her Majesty's ship Antelope, for
being drunk and for being incapable, on the 16th.
of June, 1865, at Sheerness. The charges were

proved by Acting-Master Allred Thomas, Afr.
John Hide, and Mr. George Stupple. The prisoner
was allowed the assistance of Mr. Goold, of Bristol,
as his " friend." He denied being drunk or inca-
pable, but admitted he might have been a little ex-

cited, in consequence of the charge made against
him by the commanding officer. He called Mr. John
Cleverley, the gunner of the ship, as a witness on
his behalf. Certificates extending over nine years
were read, giving the prisoner a good character for
steadiness and sobriety. The Court found the pri-
I soner "Guilty" on both charges, but, in consequence
of the good character he had hitherto borne, he was
dismissed with a severe reprimand. At the conclu-
sion of the case the Court severely reprimanded
George Stupple, the quarter-master of the ship, for
the prevaricating manner in which he had given his
evidence. The proceedings were not brought to it
close before a late hour on Thursday evening.
The following appointments have been made at
the Admiralty :—Sub.-Lieut. Francis R. B. Kemp
to the Octavia ; Hon. Cecil J. G. Cadogan, mid-
shipman, to the Sphynx ; Augustus Neville nomi-
nated to a naval cadetship.

THE EDITOR OF THE " ECONOMIST" A CANDI-
DATE AT MANCHESTER.—Manchester has not yet
selected its candidate, the moderate and extrude Liberals
being apparently unable to agree. It was reported yester-
day that the choice of several influential porsonshad fallen
upon the man who would be perhaps of all men in England
the most fitting representative for Mr. Walter Bagehot,
editor of the Economist, a keen and incisive writer, a lead-
ing county banker, and a man of just that peculiar intellect
which Manchester requires—intellect which can keep in-
tellectual when dealing with commercial questions.—
Spectator.
THE NEW BRITISH CONSUL AT PARIS.—Mr.
Falconer Atlee, now Attache, Registrar, and Libra-
rian to her Majesty's Embassy at Paris, will succeed Mr.
Pickford as Consul at Paris, while continuing to hold his
former appointments. Mr. Atlee (says the Observer) will
only have his salary of £lOO a year as Consul. The fees
were received by Mr. Pickford, but will henceforth be paid
into the general fund for consular expenses, which is now
very considerable. By this arrangement a saving to the
public will be effected to that extent.
AN ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY IN LONDON AND
UNDER THE THAMES !—lt is probable that the plan
of conveying passengers in a closed tunnel by atmospheric
pressure—which, by the way, was much laughed at about
thirty years since when something of the sort was pri-
marily proposed, with Brighton for a terminus—will be
carried into effect between the Waterloo Terminus of the
South-Western Railway and Whitehall, at Groat Scotland
Yard. The bill for making the pneumatic railway has
passed the Commons, is not opposed in the Lords, and will
probably obtain the assent of the Crown. The novel line
is to pass under the Thames in an iron tube, a channel for
which will be dredged in the bed of the river, encased in
concrete cement. At the ends of the tube so protected
brickwork will take the place of concrete.—dithenaunt.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY.—Morning, 4h. Om.—Afternoon, 4h. 22m
To-Monnow.-Morning, 4h. 44m.—Afternoon, sh. Om