The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-12 00:00:00

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NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.., •
1:4 &-C\firS'AtaN
• PORTSMOUTH, FAB. 11.
The Surveyor of the Navy, Captain Sir Thomas Bald-
win Walker, K.C.B. has been inspecting the ships fit-
ting and other departments of her Majesty's dockyard.
Sir Baldwin, accompanied by Captain Henderson, went
on board the Excellent, and witnessed some shot and
shell practice.
The Duke of Wellington, 131, screw steam-line-of-
battle ship, Captain H. B. Martin, has been receiving
her boilers on board this day under the sheers of the
steam-basin. She also progresses in her rigging and
every other department.
The Prince Regent, 90, Captain Hutton, has cop-
pered three and four streaks from the water-line on the
Port side, and is busy scraping and painting her upper
works.

Rear-Admiral Corry was in the yard to-day inspecting
the work going on.
The Rattlesnake 8, Commander Charles Trollope,
arrived at Spithead this morning, in two of the African,
steam-tug, from Sheerness. She appears to have made
some water on her passage round. The Echo, steam-
tug, brought her into harbour this afternoon, for the
purpose of docking her and stopping her leak, prepara-
tory to her sailing for Behring's Straits.
The Asia, 84, got guys and warps all ready to come
out of dock this day ; hands, however, could not be
spared, and she waits till to-morrow.
The Cruiser, 16, screw steam-sloop, Commander the
Hon. Charles Douglas, was towed into the harbour at
nine a.m., by Echo, steam-tug, and laid alongside the
King's-stairs Jetty. She afterwards hauled into dock
for the purpose of releasing the metal framework of her
propeller, which fitted so tight in the groove that they
could not work it on board ; this slight difficulty will be
speedily overcome. She presents a perfect combination
of beauty and strength ; her bottom faultless.
The Excellent is training her gunners in night firing
with night lights. She commenced last night about 8
o'clock, and no notice having been given through these
towns the inhabitants thought some ship was in distress,
and congregated iipon the walls, &c., to ascertain the
t circumstances. To-day .Qtiler„,.imp&tant...itractice has
`been
carried anon board the*Ticellent, in the presence
of Sir Baldwin Walker and the officers at the port.
The Arrogant, 46, screw-frigate, Captain Fremantle,
left for sea this morning about ten o'clock. She has
gone on a three week's trial cruise, and, then. proceeds
to Queenstown. .

The Fairy yacht, Master Commander David, N.
Welch, went this day to the measured mile, at Stokes
Bay, for her third trial. To-morrow she ships her old
one purposely to test the difference, after which she has
one more trial with Griffith's patent propeller, when we
shall be enabled to give full particulars of the trial from
the commencement. We have much pleasure in stating
that the patent propeller has met the highest approval,
and its success has been ensured, not only by the ab-
sence of all vibration, but from an actual gain in speed
as well.

The African, steam-tug, returned to Sheerness this
evening with supernumeraries.
Sibelli, convict-ship, got under weigh this morning
from Spithead, bound to Gibraltar.
CONVICT LABOIIII.—It is expected that convicts will
again be employed as labourers in those Royal dockyards
where at present the whole of the unskilled work is per.
formed by free labourers.

The following vessels of the steam reserve at this port
are ready for immediate service :—Her Majesty's ship
Blenheim, screw two-decker, 60, Captain W. H. Hen-
derson, C. 8., senior officer; Vesuvius, 6; Stromboli, 6 ;
Bulldog, 6 ; and Hecla, 6 ; all paddle-wheel sloops.
There is a rumour of an increase of complement of men
for the Blenheim. Captain Henderson' has been occu-
pied during the week with the trials of Griffith's patent
propeller on board her Majesty's yacht Fairy, and seve-
ral inspections. It is reported that his disapprobation
•of the foul condition of the bilges and engineroom of one
of the steam sloops at this port has been notified to her
commander, who will incur a serious responsibility,
should he put to sea with them in that state and happen
to be ordered to a tropical climate. Mr. Wallis, Mas-
ter, R.N., leaves the steam reserve for active service in
her Majesty's steam-frigate Furious. The Conflict, 8,
screw-corvette, is fitting out in the steam basin.

PLYMOUTH, FEB. 11.
The Desperate, steam-ship, Captain Chambers, went
into the Sound to-day.
The Vulture, steam-frigate, Captain Frederick H. H.
Glasse, and Magicienne, steamer, Captain Thomas Fisher,
were paid wages in advance to-day.
The Rhadamanthns, steam-transport, Master Com-
mander Belam, is to take supernumeraries to the east-.
ward, but she is still in Hamoaze, nor is it certain what
day she proceeds to sea—no doubt very shortly.
The Goodwill, lighter, sailed yesterday, with stores
for the eastward ; Camel, with stores for Pembroke ;
and Rochester, with stores, for Portsmouth and Chatham.
The Argus, revenue-steamer, arrived during the night
of Thursday, from the eastward.

• • SHEERNESS, FEB. 10.
The Melampus, .42, has this day been transported out
of the fitting baSin and docked in the north dock, to be
fitted with all possible dispatch as a transport, for con-
veyance of steam-machinery from port to port as re-
quired.

The Espiegle, 12, Commander George Hancock—
The Master, Mr. Thomas Huss, of the 30th of Decem-
ber, 1848, has this day taken up his commission to this
sloop. The Espiegle is progressing fast in her equipment.
The marines having joined are now going on with the
seamen's duty and assisting the seamen, gunners, and
riggers, in the deck duty, and are truly useful in the ab-
scence. of seamen volunteers. In proof of this. even
when the Waterloo, 120 guns, was rigged here under the
directions of her then Commander George Hancock, now
in command of the Espiegle, the marines stropped all
the blOcks for aloft and below, pointed and fitted all her
gun breechings, •and, with the assistance of the seamen
gunners 'only, completely rigged that ship ready for sea.
It is becoming quite proverbial now with old man-of-
war's-men here, "Let the Jollys rig the ship, and when
she is all ready we will join her." The seamen, on join-
ing, see every rope and line belayed on its proper cleat,
and all is ready for bending sails. The emulation of the
marines would even reach that duty if the service did not
prevent that class from going aloft except under very
urgent circumstances. It is most gratifying to see the
good feeling that generally exists between the sailors and
marines. The blue-jacket says, "The Jollys are nowa-
days our helpmates, our watchmates, and our shipmates,
although not our mesimates ;" and the sailors' creed is
that " there is three to one in favour of the marines."
Under the present circumstances the want of seamen is
not so seriously felt while fitting out as formerly, the
marines being now daily improving in their duty as sea-
men riggers, and increasing their value in the service.

ze,oiili3istoteri,y,n_si:iol,3o.ptaoctaeUhllAecrhi,inT..figHtgoinAphgMe:,&Fwe.E,yviuß.tulrl,n.
turned
now
into store, and she is to he paid off to-morrow at this
port. One.orthe seamen of this frigate was. lost on Sa-
turday last, having fallen overboard by overbalancing
himself while dismantling the ship, and was drowned,
although two persons jumped overboard after him in the
hope of being able to save him. A very singular circum-
stance occurred on board the Castor on her homeward
voyage, one of the crew having fallen from the topmast
rigging on two of the men standing on deck, who com-
pletely broke his fall, without his materially hurting
either of the mien he fell upon.
The Imperieuse, 50, screw steam-frigate, Captain R.
B. Watson, C. 8., is progressing rapidly. His Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge expressed his inten-
tion of visiting this fine ship to-day, but at a late hour it
was announced that his Royal Highness's visit was
postponed to a future day. The crew of the Imperieuse
were inspected on board the Hussar receiving-ship to-
day by Commodore Wyvill, of the Castor, and about 36
or 40 of the crew of that vessel have expressed their in-
tention of serving with Captain Watson on the expira-
tion of their six weeks' leave, after being paid off to-
morrow.

In consequence of the comparatively few captains at
present at the Woolwich division, Captain J. H. Mercer,
of the Chatham division, has proceeded to Woolwich to
do duty with that division.

WOOLWICH, FEB. 11.
The Phoenix screw steam-sloop, Commander Ingle-
field, has been brought down from Deptford, and was
taken into dock here to-day to be fitted for a voyage to
the Arctic regions.
The Sinbad, Second Master Follett, arrived at this
port yesterday with stores fram Portsmouth.

-----
THEATRICAL SPECULATIONS.—In the Sheriffs Court,
in the case of Moulds v. Kerschner, a question arose
which is interesting to the theatrical profession. The
action was to recover 51. Us. Bd., alleged to be due to
the plaintiff for work and labour. It appeared from
the evidence of the plaintiff that in the year 1849 he
was the carpenter of the Pavilion Theatre, at which
period the defendant became manager and director, and
engaged him at the weekly salary of 3/. 155., which
was subsequently reduced to 31. 10s. per week, but the
speculation being unsuccessful, the company formed
themselves into a commonwealth, and he (plaintiff) re-
ceived his salary—or so much of it as he could get—
from the hands of Mr. Farebrother, the treasurer. On
cross-examination the plaintiff denied that he had ever
consented to share with, or come in under the common-
wealth. He always considered-his contract was with
theany
endefendant.gagen
witht T iethn pldefendantafnt
plaintiff,
deniedw hnt that h:me.
employed
aryedmade a
t
the theatre previously to his (defendant's) beecoconumpann
to
mana-
ger. He applied to him on behalf ofo
reduce his salary from 31.155. to V.
hisl
ask him for the pay-
account, nor did the plaintiff ever
was
leaving the theatre,
rangement whatever with him on
ment of a single shilling until he _
(defendant's)
ehbf
eunt
dmanatdeonoowarn•
cross-examinationthe theatre had gone on under
defendant admitted that
lif t
when, as a matter of course, ere ferrbeyd hmimr.toLtehvencotmhe-
madrad.ition to his salary have
com-
monwealth. On
recei
Yarnold, the lessee, a
sharshould tihn
have considered himself
liablof the debts. Mr. Benjamin
deposed to his h •alhis
e
ways
looked eeevdaeofndtfo honeer paernareefipht profits,
conjunctione
inondurtwe r,having
the plaintiff as being one of the common.
wealth, from the fact of his receiving such portion of his
salary from week to week as there were funds to meet.
The plaintiff always. looked to witness for payment, and
not to the defendant, who never received a penny out of
the receipts of the theatre. The learned Undersheriff,
in summing up, observed that, although the plaintiff was
working for the commonwealth, there was no direct evi-
dence that he was one of them. The question therefore
was, whether the defendant had contracted with the
plaintiff in the first instance, and whether the plaintiff
had subsequently agreed to come in under the common-
wealth. The jury, after a protracted consultation, gave
a verdict for the plaintiff for the full amount.
d •

LONDON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1853.

Monday evening will, in all probability, wit-
ness the first " tug of war " between the ABER-
DE-MY-RUSSELL Government, and the DERBY-DIS-
RAELI Opposition. Yesterday the gage of battle
was fairly thrown down at the feet of the PRESI-
DENT of the BOARD OF CONTROL, by the Right
"Hon. 'the ex-CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER.
The latter has evidently resolved that no time shall
be lost in calling to account one at least of those
Cabinet Ministers who have recently disgraced
their high office by the utterance of the most in-
temperate and the most un-statesmanlike scurrilities
in reference to the chief of a neighbouring and
friendly Government. From the extraordinary
promptitude thus shown by Mr. DISRAELI, the
chiefs of the present Administration may learn
the truth that they are not by any means destined
to slumber upon a bed of roses during this
momentous Session of the Imperial Parliament.
It will be perceived that the matter upon which
Sir CHARLES WOOD is about to be cross-examined
by the Leader of her MAJESTY'S Opp6sition is the
very one to which we ourselves have, within the
last few days, more than once made reference.
The egregious indecorum of the remarks uttered
very recently by Sir CHARLES WOOD, when ad-
dressing his constituents at Halifax, will not
therefore be allowed to pass by altogether with
impunity. The Right Hon. Baronet will have,
at least, to give some rational explanation of
those remarks, if he be not actually driven to the
necessity of making some reparation for their in-
temperance. Without question this is but
reasonable under all circumstances for as-
suredly something is due in the matter to
the dignity of the CROWN, to the honour
of the country, and to the interests of peace
throughout Christendom. Because, in the language
employed upon that unfortunate occasion, we be-
lieve that that dignity was violated—that that
r
honour was sullied—that those interests were
either
e eeither most shamefully abused, or most
disgrace-
fully forgotten. If the Ministerial advisers of
the SOVEREIGN are to be allowed at pleasure to
scatter abuse over a friendly potentate, and to
direct the most ignominious and intolerable im-
putations against a great nation with which our
relations continued to be of the most cordial and
pacific character—the tranquillity of Europe must
henceforth be dependent upon the petulance
of every partisan Administrator, the hon-
our of the realm must be liable at
every moment to degradation, and the most
shallow-pated holder-of-office may, for the gratifi-
cation of every petulant and splenetic emotion,
compromise the name and depreciate the dignity
of his SOVEREIGN. What we insist upon is this—
that a Minister of State is not justified in pander-
ing to the evil passions of a mob by the gratuitous
employment of scurrility in regard to an indepen-
dent empire, whether that empire happens to be
situated in the eastern or the western hemisphere.
We maintain that there is not only discourtesy,
but even criminality, and criminality of a very
heinous kind, in the revilings directed by a person
in high office against a friendly Power—no
;f fhal. Powpr be '