The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-25 00:00:00

THE COAST OF -AFRICA.

St. Paul de Nov. 15.
Since the departure of Commodore Sir Chas. Hotham,
this place has been the head-quarters of the senior
officer, and has had occasional visits from his ship, the
Favourite, 14, Commander Alexander Murray. The
Philomel, 8, Commander Wood, arrived recently on this
division from the North Coast, and has taken her sta-
tion between this and Benguela. The other vessels
on this division are the Contest, 12, Commander
M'Murdo, cruising to the south of Benguela ; the
Blazer steamer, Lieutenant Smith, off the Congo ;
the Grepplcr steamer, Lieutenant Lycaught ; and the
Dart, 3, Lieutenant Glyn, of Ambrize; the Bittern, 12,
Commander Hope off Kabenda; the Britomart, 8, Com-
mander Chamberlains, off Loango; the Waterwich, 8,
Commander Quin; and the Wanderer, 12, Commander
Montresor, off Cape Lopez. The Dart has taken three,
the Britomart two, and the Pluto one slaver off the
Congo since the last mail. In the Bight of Benin are
Dolphin,Lieutnant Ponsonby (since
C
the Amphitrite, 25. Captain Eden (ordered to the Pa-
cific); the Cygnet, 8, Commander Kenyon; the Star, 8,
3, Lieutenant Boyle;
Commanderaanodm them Command l:irn
taßti,
Tudor).
de
oy steamer,r; the
o nthe Sierra Leone coast are the
Alert, ; the Sealark, 8, Com •
m
llntaloon, 8, Commander
nde r 6,
is Commanderlonypenny ;
tphetiol Pantaloon,
Prevost; and the Ranger, 8, Commander Newland. The
Bonetta, 3, Lieutenant Forbes, arrived here from Sierra
Leone on the 30th ult., with the mails brought out by
the Pantaloon and Ranger. She reports both the
Ranger and Alert as having been on shore
and sustained considerable damage. The slave-
trade is greatly on the increase on the north coast,
and the Pongas, Nunez, Gallinas, and Cape Mount
rivers are swarming with slavers. The Bonetta has
been exceedingly successful on that station, having
taken five or six prizes. The Pluto sailed some weeks
ago to reinforce that division. Lieutenant Joliffe has
the command of her, and Mr. Christopher Albert, addi-
tional second master of the Penelope, has been given the
command of the Adelaide prize tender, vice Joliffe. The
Snap, recently a slaver steamer, but now converted into a
barque, Mr. Raymond second master in charge, arrived
here on the sth inst. with a large quantity of stores and
provisions from St. Helena for the use of the division of
the squadron employed on this station. She sailed for
Ascension on the Bth inst., all well. The Favourite, 14,
Commander Murray, arrived on the 7th inst., and sailed
the following evening on a cruise, all well. The Con-
test, 12, Commander Maude, arrived on the 7th inst.,
and having caulked and refitted returned to her station
off Benguela on the 14th, all well. The Favourite sails
for England on the Ist of January. The new Go-
vernor of the Portuguese possessions on the west
coast has entered on his duties at this place, and
the fleet of eight or ten cruisers under the orders
of a new naval commander-in-chief are now actively
employed in the suppression of the slave trade;
their sphere of usefulness has, however, been recently
crippled by a new treaty with Brazil, which limits the
capture of slave vessels under that flag to within three
miles of the shores of the Portuguese territories. The
captain of the Mandonna brig of war has, however, been
making amends for this restriction by burning to the
ground all the barracoons belonging to the subjects of
that empire, as well as those of his own countrymen
along the coast. This and similar cases evidence a cer-
tain measure of vigilance on the part of the Portuguese
officers to check the enormities of the slave trade, but,
alas! they are mere isolated cases, and are, as well as
the exertions of the Britisk, next to futile in stemming
the virulence of that disease which is drying up the vital
energies of Africa.
WOOLWICH, J&N. 24.—The Janus steam-vessel,
when she went down the river on trial yesterday under
the charge of Lieutenant Robertson, with Mr. Trickett,
assistant to the chief engineer at Woolwich Dock-
yard, and Mr. Casey, chief engineer in Captain AlN-
tin's department, was found to answer very well in the
working of her machinery, and the speed attained was
about 10,E knots per hour, but her steering was not so
satisfactory as could be wished. The difficulty in steer-
ing the vessel may have been owing to her not being in
trim or from her farm being equally sharp at the stern
as at the bows; the original design being to have rud-
ders for and aft, similar to the plan adopted in some of
the river boats, to enable her to start or bring up with
out tuning round.
The Niger steam-vessel went down the river on an
official trial to-day, in charge of Lir. Gosman, master of
the Fi gard
, Lieutenant Robertson, whose duty it is
to make these trials Laing on leave for a day or two.
The Niger left her moorings at half-past ten o'clock,
A.m , having on board Captain Halstead, R.N. ; Mr.
Lloyd, chief engineer at the Admiralty; Mr. Humphries,
chief engineer at Woolwich Dockyard ; Mr. Casey,
chief engineer in Captain Austin's department; and
Mr. F. I'. Smith of the screw propeller department