The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-22 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCB.

PORTSMOUTH, JAN 21.
The Medina, 4, steam-vessel, Lieutenant-Commander
Reynolds, arrived at Spithead to-day from the Mediter-
ranean., She left Malta on the 4th, Gibraltar on ithe
12th, and Lisbon on the 16th inst. At Malta were her
Majesty's ships Ceylon and Banshee, the latter under
orders for England. At Gibraltar, her Majesty's ships
Britannia, 120 ; Trafalgar, 120 ; Albion, 90 ; Bellero-
phon, 78 ; Arethusa, 50 ; Retribution, 28 ; Sampson, 6 ;
Niger, 14 ; and Antelope, 2. At Lisbon, the Sanspareil,
81 ; and Inflexible, 6. Commander Howatt (on being
relieved by Commander Bickford), Lieutenant Solly,
Lieutenant Grant (on promotion), and the Hon. Mr.
Elliot, have come home passengers in the Medina; which
has been four years and three months in commission,
and employed in the Mediterranean as a packet. The
Royal West India Mail Steam Company's packet Teviot,
with the Brazil mails, had not appeared off Lisbon on
the 16th. The Medina came into this harbour to coal,
and will proceed to Woolwich to be paid off.
The Swift, 6, Commander Aldham, having discharged
her freight (270 boxes of specie, which was conveyed to
London by special train by Messrs. Emanuel last night.
and lodged in the Bank of England this morning) was
towed out to Spithead this morning, and has since sailed
for Plymouth to be paid off.
The Mercury cutter, Lieutenant Freeland, arrived
this morning from the Channel Islands with volunteers
for the navy.

By letters from the coast of Africa to the end of
December we learn that the Polyphemus, 5, steam-sloop,
Commander Phillips, anchored at Sierra Leone on the
27th, and reported having, on Christmas-day, destroyed
the slave barracoons of the notorious Don Crispo, a
Spaniard living in the Sherbro country. This is an
important service, and was well executed by Comman-
der Phillips. The Propontis packet arrived at Sierra
Leone on the 27th, at 3 a.m., having had a very
rough passage. Bishop Vital landed the same
day. A portion of wreck had been picked up
on the coast near Accra, marked with the broad
arrow. It is certainly not belonging to a ship of the
African squadron. Lieutenant Towsey, of the Firefly,
has invalided ; Acting-Lieutenant Burnaby, of the Pen-
elope, takes his place. Mr. Phillips, mate of the Pene-
lope, to be Acting-Lieutenant, vice Burnaby. Mr.
Death, secretary's clerk, to be clerk in charge of the
Pluto. Mr. Steil to be first-class assistant-engineer of
ditto.

The Centaur steam-frigate, Rear-Admiral Henderson,
was at Rio, from Monte Video, December 6.
The Rifleman, 8, Lieutenant-Commander Dalton, re-
turned to Rio on the Bth ult., from a cruise.

The Trident, 6, Lieutenant-Commander Harvey, ar-
rived at Bahia on the 21st of November, from Rio, and
left on her return on the 20th of December.
The Express, 6, Commander Fead, left Rio for Bahia
on the 13th of November.

The Tyne store-ship, Master-Commander Wellington,
arrived at Rio on the 20th of November from Ports-
mouth.

The Encounter, 14, Captain O'Callaghan, left Fal-
mouth for Bristol on the 16th inst.

PLYMOUTH, JAN. 21.
Her Majesty's screw steam-sloop Archer, 14, Com-
mander J. N. Strange, anchored in the Sound yesterday
afternoon, having left Falmouth in the morning. She
has been stationed there three weeks; procuring seamen
for ships fitting at Portsmouth, and has been only par-
tially successful. She will take supernumeraries from
this port.

La. Hogue, 60, steam guard-ship, Captain William
Ramsay, returned yesterday at 2 p.m. from a cruise in
the Channel, topgallant yards across, the wind being
strong from the west-north-west.

The crew of the steam-sloop Argus, 6, Commander
Richard Purvis, bent sails yesterday ; and the crew of
the Vengeance, 80, Captain Lord Edward Russell, un-
bent sails.

SHEERNESS, JAN. 20.
The Comus, 14 gun-sloop, lying in ordinary here off
Lapwell, during a heavy gale of wind from south-west,
parted from her moorings at about 4 a.m. this day, and
drove down athwart hawse of the Nymph, fith-rate re-
ceiving hulk, and was shortly afterwards lashed along-
side the Nymph, where she remains for the present.
The Phaeton, 50 guns, Captain George Elliot.—The
progress in stripping this ship is so far advanced that
she is to be paid off on Tuesday next, the principal part
of her stores having been returned.
The Horatio, screw steam guard-ship, Captain the
Hon. S. T. Carnegie, was paid wages yesterday up to
the 31st ult.

The Rattlesnake sloop, Commander Henry Trollope,
is being coppered preparatory to her being put out of
dock. The officers and crew are permitted to allot any
part, or all, of their pay to whom they please, after their
departure from here. It is reported that the officers
and crew are to have their double pay commence when
they round Cape Horn, as in the case of the Plover, In-
vestigator, and Enterprise, The destination of the Rat-
tlesnake is Point Barrow. She will take in provisions
and stores for three years. A. few petty officers only are
wanting now to complete her crew.

WOOLWICH, JAN. 21

♦PPOINTMENTS,

Master—George R. Morrison (1852), to the Bulldog,
6, paddle-wheel steam-sloop of 500-horse power, at Ports-
mouth.

Second Master—John P. Grant, to the Rhadamanthus
steam-transport. That vessel left Woolwich to-day for
Portsmouth.

Assistant-Engineers—lsaac Langmead, to the Fury,
steam-sloop, at Portsmouth ; William Robinson, to the
Horatio, 24, screw steam guard-ship, at Sheerness ; T.
W. Bower, to the Blenheim, 60, screw steam guard-ship,
at Portsmouth.
Clerk—T. J. Woodward, to the Desperate, screw
steam-sloop, at Plymouth.
Gunner—William Stephens, to the Tartarus, employed
on particular service.

Acting-Gunner—John Lamb, to the Excellent, gun-
iery-ship, at Portsmouth.

It was stated to-day, at Woolwich, that Commander
William Houston Stewart's promotion to post rank
awaits his return to England from commanding the Vi-
rago steam-sloop on the Pacific station, and that his
father, Rear-Admiral Howiton Stewart, C. 8., formerly
one of the Lords of the Adiniralty, and member for the
borough comprising the towns of Greenwich, Woolwich,
and Deptford, had been appointed secretary to Lieuten-
ant-General Lord Raglan, G.C.8., Master-General of
the Ordnance, it being deemed advisable that a naval
officer should fill that post. We can confirm the report
relative to the latter officer, as the gallant Rear-Admiral
Houston Stewart has accepted the office of secretary to
the Master-General.

Sir James Graham, Captain Alexander Milne, and the
Hon. William Cowper, Lords of the Admiralty, and
Mr. Bernal Osborne, secretary, again transacted business
yesterday, at Somerset-house, in connexion with the
contract department.

MR. WAKLEY ON CHILD MURDER AND FOUNDLING
HOSPlTALS.—Yesterday Mr. Wakley held an inquest
at the Pakenham Arms, Calthorpe-street, Gray's-inn-
road, on the body of a newly-born female child, which
was found in a garden in Agar Town, St. Pancras. The
body was produced, and was that of a remarkably fine
infant. From the evidence, it appeared that, on Wed-
nesday morning last, a bundle was found in the garden,
of the house No. 1, Oxford-street, Agar Town, by Eliza-
beth Lawson, daughter of the occupier of the house.
On picking up the bundle, she opened it, and found
therein the body of a child, as if newly born. It was
pressed almost flat, and was wrapped in an old bed-
gown and a piece of black cloth. Notice was imme-
diately given to the authorities of the St. Pancras work-
house, who directed Lamb, the gate porter, to convey
the body to the dead-house. Mr. Samuel Waldegrave,
surgeon to the St. Pancras Infirmary, deposed to having
examined the body shortly after it was brought into the
house. The chest and face was compressed. The child,
which was a remarkably fine one, weighing si lbs.,
and measuring 21 inches, was evidently born alive.
All the organs were fully developed, and in a most
healthy state. He had no hesitation in stating
that death was caused from want of proper attention at
the birth. Whether this want of attention was wilful
or not, there was no evidence to show. The Coroner :
If the child was born alive, as appears from the evidence,
and died from want of attention, it was as much a mur-
der as if the throat was cut. If the jury were convinced
that the proper attention was withheld, it was their duty
to return a verdict of wilful murder. Under the circum-
stances this was the most proper course to adopt ; if at
any future time the mother should be forthcoming it
would be for her to prove that proper attention was not
wilfully withheld. The jury would run no risk in coming
to this decision. Ii the event of the mother being sent
to the Old Bailey, it was exceedingly doubtful if she
would be convicted. It seldom happened that persons
were convicted of child murder. He (the coroner) re-
membered one case, where a child's throat was cut from
ear to year ; but the magistrate refused to convict, on
the ground that there was no proof that it had not been
done after death. The present case was an illustration
of the utility of foundling hospitals. The establishmen
of such an institution would, in his (the coroner's)
opinion, be the means of preventing 400 murders an-
nually. The jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder
against some person or persons unknown."
AMERICAN SLAVERY.—A meeting of ladies has been
thoeltdheatladthieesAosfseAmmbelyricßaowomerse,
aßagrtehe,datto,whoinehtheje
subaddressesct
of American slavery, similar to that of the Duehess. of
Sutherland, and the Anti-Slavery Society. A subscrip-
tion has also been commenced to enable Mrs. Beecher
sreosfenttrnhceler,
wStiothwea tteosmtimeeotnainalyovfeexsatetieomus
aasctitohnes,
Tom's Cabin.
—The Government emi-
grant Australia, was towed
aauntdhot°resp
E f I Gs
hRiApT EMIGRATION
ea
sT
aAnu,s
boundru A rA
for.
out of Southampton-docks yesterday. She has about 220
This is the first ship that has started
emigrants on board.
from Southampton since the latter has been made a Go
vernment emigration depot. The emigrants have been
residing in a building in the Dock fitted up as a teLe-
porary emigration depot. Each emigrant has receiNa
a package of tracts from the Religious Tract Society, and
also a Bible and Testament from the Christian Know-
ledge Society. The clergyman of the Dock district and
Dissenting ministers of the town have attended to the
spiritual wants of the emigrants during the stay of the
latter in Southampton, and Divine service has been per-
formed daily at the depot or on board the Caucasian.
Many of the emigrants are of the agricultural class, or
they have been mechanics-and artisans in rural districts.
Great numbers of them have been comfortably off, but
having large families, are anxious that their children
shall strive where the struggle for comfort and indepen-
dence is not mo movers as it is in this country.