The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-20 00:00:00

THE WAR

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE•
By a letter from Singapore, dated the 29th of April,
we learn that intelligence had been received by Rear-
Admiral Sir James Stirling, of the Russian squadron on
the China station having sailed to the north of Japan.
The Spartan, 26, Captain Sir Win. Hoste, and the Bar-
racouta, 6, paddle-sloop, Commander Parker, were ex
petting orders to start immediately for China. The
Sybille, 40, Captain the Hon. C. G. J. B. Elliot, was to
remain at Singapore, where also were lying at the date
of our letter the Lily, 12, Commander Sanderson ; Rat-
tler, 8, Commander Mellersh ; and Rapid, 8, Com-
mander Blane. The Admiral had shifted his flag from
the latter vessel into the Barracouta.
The Sidon, 22, paddle-frigate, Captain Goldsmith, ar-
rived at Constantinople on the 3d, with two prizes in
tow, and nearly 200 Russian prisoners of war.
The Banshee, 4, despatch-vessel, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Reynolds, sailed on the 3d from Constantinople,
with the mail for the fleet.

The Caradoc, steam despatch-vessel, Lieutenant-Com.
mander Derriman, sailed on the 3d, with Rear-Admiral
Boxer, superintendent of the transport service in the
East, and a distinguished mineralogist on board to in-
spect the coal mines in the Black Sea. They proceeded
to Heraclia, Kasloo, and Zungeldak, and at the two latter
places found a considerable quantity seadylor shipment.
The coal, particularly that at Zungeldak, is of a very
superior quality, and could be delivered on board ship
for considerably less than 1/. per ton. A vast saving to
our Government would result from the British fleet being
supplied from this source, but to accomplish it the work-
ing of the mines must pass from Turkish into English
hands.
The Terrible, paddle frigate, Captain M'Cleverty, ar-
rived at Kosloo on the 3d to coal: She would sail thence
on the sth. She reports that while cruising off Sebas-
topol on the 30th of May two two-deckers, two frigates,
and five steamers stood out to attack her. They chased
for an hour and a half, when she went on full speed and
reported the circumstance to Admiral Dundas.
The Inflexible, 6, paddle sloop, Commander Popple:
well, arrived at Kosloo on the 3d to coal.
The Banshee and Caradoo arrived at Constantinople
on the sth.
Mr. Wilberforce, mate of the Britannia, is appointed
Acting-Lieutenant of the Trafalgar, vice Hope Johnston,
to the Flag-Lieutenant to his father, Rear-Admiral
Johnston, the newly-appointed Commander-in-Chief on
the south-east coast of America station.
Lieutenant Douglass R.M.A., of the Furious, had
two of his fingers severely injured by the accidental dis-
charge of his fowling-piece while loading it.
Lieutenant Royse, of the Firebrand, has been in-
valided.
The Vesuvius, 6, paddle-sloop, Commander Powell,
left Constantinople for Baltschick on the 6th to join the
fleets.
The Simoom and Megmra, iron troop-ships, the Cy-
clops steam transport, ad the Sidon, Caradoc, and
Banshee were lying at Constinople on the 3th inst.
Our letters from Malta, dated June 12, says :
"The Manilla, Peninsular and Oriental Company's
steamer, arrived here yesterday from Constantinople, and
proceeded on her passage to Southampton.
" The Orinoco left port yesterday on her passage to Eng-
land. She had on board nearly all the wives of the soldiers
serving in the East. Several of these women are in the
greatest distress, and on reaching England have no home
to which to proceed.
" The Emeu, from Constantinople, arrived this morn-
ing, and is to proceed to England during the day.
"The Stromboli steamer arrived on Saturday night, and
having filled up her coal proceeded to the eastward, after a
short detention.
" Another prize was brought in on Friday last from Con-
stantinople, under charge of Mr. H. J. Challis, mate of
the Firebrand steamer. She is an lonian brig of 150 tons,
and loaded with oil. We have now three prizes in port,
but, as there is no judge of the Admiralty Court as yet
appointed, it may be some time yet erg the necessary for-
malities for their condemnation can be carried out.
7r" On Friday a melancholy accident took place here.
Four sergeants of the 68th Light Infantry went out in a
small English pleasure boat, a present to the sergeants'
mess by Lieutenant-Colonel Smyth. The weather was
fine, but the breeze was strong, and in tacking to put back
she capsized. The four men—David 'Thompson, William
Johnson, Henry M'Callagh, and John Talbot—threw off
their clothe, as soon as possible and hung on to the keel of
the boat, but in a short time M'Callagh fell off exhausted,
and sunk, and in a few minutes after Talbot shared the
same fate. The two others were more fortunate, and suc-
ceeded in maintaining their hold for a period of three hours,
when the French transport schooner Amphitrite, which
was passing, took them off and brought them in on Satur-
day morning. The survivors, considerably exhausted,
were removed to the hospital, and are doing well.
" The allied fleets were by the last advices partly at
Baltschik and partly at Varna, assisting at the disembark-
ing of the troops destined for thel relief of Silistria.
" After the landing of the troops the ships were to renew
the blockade of Sebastopol. The flying squadron was to
proceed to attack the forts of Anapa. Such, at least, is
the tenor of letters received by the Emeu to-day, although
it is admitted that the greatest secresy is observed as to
the contemplated movements.
" The Maltese barqueVenus, on the Ist inst., was run in-
to at sea, in let. 36 10 N, long. 3.28 E, near Cape Sacralif,
while on her voyage to England, in ballast. The vessel that
ran into her is thought to be an English barque, and did
her much damage, carrying away her bowsprit, her cut-
water, foretopmast, maintopgallatit masts, yards, booms,
&c., on account of which she was obliged to bear up for
this port, which she reached on the 10th inst.
"The only addition to the arrival of troops since my last
is that of the Arabia transport (No. 83) from Liverpool, on
the 21st of May, which arrived here yesterday."
A mail for the Baltic fleet will be made up this even-
ing at the General Post-office, St. Martin's-le-Grand,
and forwarded through Denmark to Dantzic to the care
of the British Consul. One of the steamers will be sent
to Dantzic to receive this mail and carry it on to the fleet.
The 20 days' notice required by the Court of Admiralty
having expired, the undermentioned Russian vessels will
forthwith be condemned as lawful prizes to their captors,
namely, the Catharine Charlotte, Daniel Cannel, master,
taken by her Majesty's steamer Conflict ; the Industrie,
Neilson Fuhl, master; the Carl Magnus, Ressemus, mas-
ter, also prizes to the Conflict ; the Fabian, Berghen-
stein, master, taken by her Majesty's steamer Euryalus ;
and the Johann., Alexander Uldshom, master, taken by
her Majesty's steamer Bull-dog.
Rear-Admiral Martin, Superintendent of Portsmouth
Dockyard, struck his flag last evening on board the St.
Vincent, 101, Captain Eliott, in Portsmouth harbour,
and went on short leave.
The Colossus, 80, screw ship, was commissioned yes-
terday morning at Portsmouth, by Lieutenant Dawson,
for Captain Robinson, and several of her officers have
joined. She is under the shears in the steam factory
basin, completing the shipment of her machinery.
The Myrmidon, 4, iron steamvessel, Lieutenant-Com-
mander W. K. Julliffe, lately from the coast of Africa
station, is ordered to be paid off at Portsmouth, and is
returning stores and dismantling with that object.
The Locust, 3, steamvessel, Lieutenant-Commander
Day, steamed out of Portsmouth harbour to Spithead
yesterday afternoon. Her crew have been paid wages,
and she will embark mails for the fleet in the Baltic to-
morrow, when she will sail.
Yesterday the Lords of the Admiralty gave notice at
Lloyd's that transports were required to convey several
hundred tons of oats to Varna, on the Black Sea, for the
cavalry horses, also to convey 140 tons of provisions
from the River Thames, 500 tons from Gosport, and 250
tons from Plymouth to Malta, and 300 tons of naval
stores from the Thames to the Mediterranean.
Yesterday the transport Arthur the Great, No. 28,
arrived off Folkestone from the river, en route for the

East.
The Rhadamanthus steam-transport, Master Com,
mander Belam, arrived at Portsmouth yesterday morn,
ing from Woolwich, with machinery for thef new screw-
corvette Harrier, ordered to be equipped or commis-
sion with the utmost despatch.
200 non-commissioned officers and men of the Hon.
East India Company's service will march from \\Tuley
barrack; on Tuesday, the 20th inst., for Gravesend, and
embark there for a passage to India.
The first division of the 80th Regiment of Foot, con-
sisting of 151. non-commissioned officers and men, ar-
rived at Gravesend, from Calcutta, on Friday last, and
on disembarking there proceeded by the North Kent
Railway to Strood, where they were met by the band of
the Provisional Battalion from Chatham, and played to
St. Mary's barracks in that garrison. The men appear
to be much worn, and many of them will no doubt have
to be invalided, although' not many are now invalided
who are by appearance fit for depot service. They left
India without knapsacks, as they were destroyed in
Burmali, and they came ashore with haversacks only.
They embarked at Calcutta on the 14th of February,
and have been four months and two days on their pas-

sage.
The detachment of the Woolwich division of Royal
y
Marines for servicein the Colossus, 80, screw steam-ship,
and the men who have volunteered from the Woolwich
division for service in the Royal Marine Artillery left
the dockyard station of the North Kent Railway at half-
past eight a.m. yesterday, en rOUte for Portsmouth.

Taken before us—
S. PAGET, J.P.
G. GILL; J.P.

NAVAL APPOINTMENTS.
Captain Arthur Farquhar (1849) to command the
Malacca steam sloop, commissioned yesterday at Chat-
ham.
Commander Alexander Little (1846) to commission the
Royal Albert, 131, screw steamship at Sheerness, for,
it is said, the pendant of Captain William H. Hender-
son, C. 8., who formerly commanded the Blenheim, 60,
screw steam-ship, officiated as a member of the commit-
tee on manning the navy, and at present comptroller of
the coast guard, from which the commander has been
selected.
Commander Charles R. Johnson (1847) to the Co-
lossus, 80, screw steam-ship, at Portsmouth.
Lieutenant T. B. Collinson (1850), recently serving as
additional lieutenant of the Royalist, 6, brig, when on
the East Indies station.
SurcreonJohn Tcrnan (1851), M.D.,, recently serving
in the''Nerbudda, 12, brig, on the Ca pe
,of Good Hope
station; to the Hornet, 17, screw stea m-sloop, at Wool-
wich, for service with the Baltic fleet..
• PROMOTION.
...
C. s '—'''d -1( . ......., ......
oraman antler odenck Dew (1846)„ to be Captain.

Taken and sworn before us—
S. PAGET, J.P.
G. GREY, J.P.

City, Garrison, and Territory* of Gibraltar.
George Nugent, private 6th Dragoons, saith —That I am
a private in the 6th Dragoons. I assisted in putting a
fire out in one of the seamen's berths at 11 o'clock a.m. of
the morning of the 31st of May. I am not certain whether
it was on the morning or the day before the fire. The fire
consisted of the burning of a pair of woollen stockings which
were ignited by a pipe, but extinguished immediately with
two tins of water.

GEORGE NUGENT.

Taken and sworn before us—
S. PAGET, J.P.
G. GREY, J.P.

AN EXPLANATION BY THE CHIEF MATE OF THE STATE-
MENTS MADE BY LIEUTENANT BLACK, MR. GARDNER
(MASTER), AND LIEUTENANT AND ADJUTANT WEIR,
WHICH WERE READ TO HIM.
Joseph Ginder (chief mate) s'ates,When I came aft on
the poop for priming for a gun, I found that the powder
canisters had been removed from where I left them. The
quarter boats hal been lowered, and there was great confu-
sion among the troops and seamen, several of whom were en-
deavouring to lower the stern boat. There were about four
or five men in the boat at this time lowering the starboard
side, and I looked over the stern and saw that the gripe was
not cast off; the starboard tackle was then let go, and the
stern of the boat fell in tbe water. By the sudden jerk of the
boat falling I was pitched into her, but endeavoured to reach
the deck of the ship by climbing up the tacky, but could not
do it, as when I was about to catch hold of the bumpkin my
hand slipped, and I fell in the water a second time. The bow
tackle was then cut or let go ; we were then adrift, and the
boat half-full of water. The ship was going about four knots
through the water. We had nothing but a pair of slippers
with which to bale the water out of the boat. I picked up a
boat with Lieutenant Black and 26 men, and towed them to
the Kennet Kingsford schooner. The reason for my not re-
turning to the burning vessel was that the boats were cast
adrift by some person ou board the schooner.
JOSEPH GINDER.

City, Garrison, and Territory of Gibraltar.
Lieutenant John Riedy Black, saith,—That as near as I can
recollect, about 10 o'clock of the evening of the 31st, I had
just gone to bed, when I heard the alarm of fire. I immedio
ately got up, ran ham to the main deck, where I found the
second mate busy with the hose, and the soldiers passing water
along in the buckets. Both the master and chief mate were
busy in the fore peak, where the fire had originated, trying to
extinguish the fire, but so rapid was the progress of the fire
that they were obliged to come on deck. The master then
came to me and told me there was no chance of saving the
ship. I then thought that the best thing I could do was
to see about the boats, when both soldiers and sailors leaped
into the quarter-boats, and they were under no control what-
ever. I heard the master distinctly say that these men would
uo doubt be all drowned. I then looked over the stern, and
found my gig gone. About 10 minutes, and about 20 from
the first alarm, there was a boat on the skids, abaft the main-
mast, weighing about two tons, and which was too heavy to
be got overboard ; there was also another boat on the star-
board side of the quarter-deck, which we turned up, and,
with a great deal of difficulty, we lifted it up on the poop
rail, when I got into it, and was launched overboard with
the intention of preventing confusion and hanging on
astern. The second mate was also in this boat, and
hailed the master to send him some oars, as there were none
in the boat ; but this the master refused to do, and said,
" But if we send you oars you will leave us." Both quarter-
boats had left the ship full of men, and were out of sight,
the night being xlark, with wind and rain. In the boat in
which I was we picked up 26 persons, but had no opportu-
nity of picking up others. In this boat the officers were
the adjutant, the surgeon, the cornet, and the second
mate.'“ We were then let go from the ship, and is this
state,. without oars, we were left to the mercy of the waves.
In consequence of seeing a light to windward, we all shouted
aloud, when the agent's gig came alongside and took us in
tow. I found in my gig the chief officer, the third officer, and
the clerk ; Mr. Ginder, the first officer ; Mr. Stokes, the third
officer; and Mr. Noble, the clerk—there being but five per-
sons iu all in this boat. She was a 24-foot boat. I should
have had no difficulty in taking 14 men more in her. We
were a mile from the ship when my gig came up with us.
saw Colonel Moore several times on the poop and quarter-
deck during the fire. He appeared very cool and collected.
The flames were so violent that all discipline was at an end.
Had my gig remained alongside the ship many more men, in
my oinion, might have been saved. We were picked up b
the scphooner Kennet Kingsford, with two other boats, making
in all 49 persons. I requested the captain of the schooner to
go down to the wreck and try to save some more men, but
this he refused, stating that ho was afraid of the sparks from
the fire ; I being still under the impression that there were
several hands on the hen-coops and floating spJ. ars.
R. BLACK.

Taken and sworn before us—
G. GREY, J. P.
S. PAGET, J. P.

City, Garrison, and Territory of Gibraltar.
William Gardiner saith,—That I was master of the transport
Europa. At 10 p.m., on the night of the 31st ult., the colonel
and myself were sitting by the cabin table, when the alarm of
fire was given ; and I immediately ran below, and found fire
blazing in the store-room in the front peak. I wont inside the
store-room myself, and, with the chief mate, I threw water on
the fire, which was passed tons by the soldiers. The fire had com-
plete hold of the ship, and our efforts were in vain. Finding'
could not put out the fire, I went on deck, and told Lieut.
Black, the Admiralty agent, that it was impossible to save the
ship ; but in order to save lives we bore up for a bark and a
brig. I then went on the poop, and gave the necessary orders,
which were obeyed, and directed the seamen to clear away,
but not to lower the boats. At this time the chief mate was
clearing out the magazine, and the second mate superintend-
ing the force pump below. The soldiers at that time appeared
to be alarmed, and some of them attempted to get into the
boats. They were immediately ordered back by the colonel
and myself, which the men obeyed. To prevent the men froth'
doing so again we called the adjutant, who was there, and de-
sired him not to allow any soldiers in the boats, as they would
bo lost. I then, with the intention of going below again,
went with Col. Moore to see whether the force pump was used
with any effect. We had got on the quarter-deck from the
poop, when I heard by the sound that both quarter boats
were lowered: I immediately ran to the mizen rigging close
to the boats' davits, and observed to Dr. MlGriggor, who was
standing there, that those men were certainly all lost. Imme-
diately afterwards I looked aft, and saw that the wheel was
deserted, and went there myself. I heard the lowering of the
Admiralty agent's boat, she being let go by the run. At that
time I had no idea what was in the boat. She appeared to get
away from the ship instantly, and I had no opp ,rtunity of
calling her back, as she disappeared so quickly. Col. Moore
was standing by me at the time.' Judging by what the other
boats carried, I think this one could 'have taken 14 men. I
do not recollect seeing the third mate and clerk at all. I
called for them at different times, but cannot say they heard
me. The first mate, with the boatswain, exerted themselves
in getting the powder out of the magazine. The last time I
saw the chief mato he was on the poop, clearing away a
gun by my orders, with the idea of making a signal.
The magazine was in the after part of the ship, and
the powder from which had been removed to the poop
peek. After the gig was lowered and gone I called out to the
chief mate and ship's company ; the second mate answered
me with two men. I asked them where the chief mato was,
and the second mate replied he did not know. Het hen with
the greatest exertions got the spare quarterboat, owed oCommunica-
n
the skids of the quarterdeck, on to the poop.-
tion with the gangway was then cut off. She was then
launched off the poop into the water by the men,
MMr. Black
and the cornet being the only people in her. r. Bl ack,
from his age, would otherwise have been unable to get into
the boat. Sho was then dropped astern by a rope's end.
The second mate:then' came to me, and told me it was th
to e lasgo
t
opportunity to get away from the ship, and asked me
with him. I gave him permission, but refused to go myself,
as I was still steering the ship. Colonel Moore was standing
by me all the time. I pointed cut to him that this might be
the last opportunity, but did not urge him myself to go, but
heard somo of his own men do so. The colonel replied that
he would do as I did, and asked what I intended to do. I
replied, that we would save the men if possible, by setting
down to the vessels to leeward, but while one remained by
the wreck I would not desert her, there being between 20
and 30 souls still on board, and one woman among them.
The last boat, with the Admiralty agent, left about half-past
11 o'clock, the colonel having replied to any last remark by
" Do what you can for us, and I will stick by you to
saying, All the officers are gone,
the last." His men then said,
and you, being an old man, ought to go also." He replied,
" I don't care, although they are all gone I will not leave
you." When the boat with the Admiralty agent dropped
astern the second mato then got into her, and asked me
to hand down . a couple of oar+. I refused, but told
him to hang on astern, fearing that if
as I I did so they
would then leave the ship, especially
.ped this
boat would be useful in removing the men to the ships
for. which we were steering; this . reason I gave to
the seedaud,raate.
_-fit thisarlpme4.lllo.b94,lsakettst-adrift
I,y some person in her. We were at this time going about