The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-16 00:00:00

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`NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
\JESTY'S DISPATCH YACHT ELFIN.
trliabty h..noqome :leans yacht, tn,:flt
the F.ory, to convey dispaiehts beta een
,h and the Isle of Wight, is now nearly ready,
iyffs,tsotnat,otesde,pcorsorcihdeee:daitlsoltehrbe,er station, where, as we
'rear
remereconomy,:converted
elegant,
absy
blfreen.
,ny of them,
n andhahveer b
eefl fittings, i
mostngs, ji 3
e althoughxpe n.
awltiotghothseevre,rwale costly articles,
d and appropriated from material;
bill does not exceed a couple of hundred
_'ho cabin arrangements, though on a small
scale, are very convenient. 'There is a saloon, ladies'
cabin, with small dressing cabin attached, and a
waiting cabin for servants. The walls aro of mahogany.
and maple panelling. In the saloon and ladies'
cabin there is a range of sofas on each side, covered
with green-figured hair cloth, which has a eery rich
and silky appearance, and is calculated to wear well.
The ends are finished with elbows, the fronts of which
are carved mahogany dolphins, quite a new and very
nn tchee.
saaplporoonp,rwiahteicdheaslisgon.anslwleerrse isfora a handsome
ctable
ni
The cabins are lighted at night by brass bracket candle-
lamps (fixed against the walls), also very chaste.
In this little vessel the chief object in building and
fitting bas been service and economy, and though the
materials are good, rather than superb, and more neat ,
than splendid, the tout ensemble is most worthy to be. ,
ranked as one of the Queen's yacht squadron. We
have before stated that the Elfin was designed by Mr.„
0. W. Lang, with engines by Rennie and Co., put in
under the superintendence of Mr. Humphries, former!,
of that firm, but now chief engineer of her Majesty a
Dockyard,ffoolwich. The fittings are by Messrs. Wake-
ling and Son, the Admiralty upholsterers.
Commander John B. Marsh (1844), formerly of the
Canopus, 84, is reported as likely to commission the
Heroine, 8, at Devonport, for service, on the coast of
Africa, to which station she will convey the neifriiiiL
Lieut. Charles IL V. Temple (1842), additional of the
Southampton, flag-ship, at the Cape, died on board of
that ship, in January last, of disease of the heart. He
was the eldest son of Vice-Admiral Temple, of Truro,
Cornwall.
The Caledonia, 120, Captain Carter, arrived at Naples
on the 4th inst. from Plymouth, having been eighteen
days on the passage. As the Queen, 110, Captain Rich,
was ordered to leave Sir W. Purker on the sense day
that the Caledonia left Plymou.h, and as the Hibernia,,
104, Captain Wise, was ordered to leave for England on
the arrival of the Caledonia, these three-de-ckers may be
vary shortly expected at Devonport to be paid off.
The Arrogant, steam-frigate. 46, Captain Fitzroy, was
taken into the angle dock, at Portsmouth, on Friday, to
have her copper cleaned, and to have en additional pipe
placed to supply the new gaily-distilling apparatus. She
will probably come out of duck on Tuesday, or Monday,
if the alteration be completed. We think, from the great
buoyancy of this fine vessel, that 100 tons of iron ballast,
sphr
?er
hadly t do is
receiverib ut eodn,
board
would
theb be an improvement
sheimprovweama tried, h
ecnrtt her.er
powder and her shells, and the clothes belonging to her
crew; these articles would not bring her down an inch,
and she was at least 10 inches higher out of the water
than she should have been. The Admiralty have ordered
Captain Fitzroy to proceed from Portsmouth on the 17th
instant, with stores and supernumeraries to Cork, and _
after remaining there 48 hours, to return to Spitheact ,
trying the ship during her passage under every circum-
stance of steam and canvass, and in the working of her
powerful armament.
The Hampshire Telegraph says the " Basilisk and
Niger, new steamers, of 4,000 horse-power each, are
commissioned at Woolwich."
It has been the fashion of late to increase the arma-
ment of all the small vessels and steamers that have been
recently commissioned; for instance, the Rifleman, Sharp-
shooter, and it would appear that the Reynard and
Plumper, screw. sloops, are overdone in this respect; their
extreme breadth is 27 feet 6 inches, and when the broad-
side guns are run in on the slides, there is no room on
the deck for the crew to work the ship under canvass,
Some alteration, or reduction will, therefore, be made in
their armament, but whether the number of broadside
guns will be reduced, or guns of a less calibre taken on
board, has not yet been decided on.
The Elfin, Royal steam-yacht tender, fitted at Wool-
wich, has been twice tried down the river, and has been
reported as having attained a speed of 12 kauts anti
6-10ths, which is said to be equal to nearly " 14in sta-
tute miles an hour. We say reported, because the re-
ports and realities aro not always the same, as we have
often proved with reference to these trials on the Thames
reported from Woolwich. It would have been much
more satisfactory if the figures of time and speed, taken
at the measured mile, had been given; and there could
have been little difficulty in getting them; for it is idle
to suppose that the Elfin went down the river on "trial,"
after a little breathing, the evening before, and did not
run the measured mile. "Fourteen miles and a quarter"
she is reported to have gone, but this is not enough, and
we shall be disappointed if she does not add another
mile to this rate of speed; in fact, wo believe there is
very little doubt but that she will make an average of la
miles. There appears, indeed, to be some little mistake
in the above rendering of nautical miles, for by our
reckoning 12 knots and 6-10ths make 14.49 miles, or
nearly fourteen miles and a half.
The yard masons have :been repairing the arches of
the old basin at Portsmouth for the last week. So soon
as the Arrogant comes out of dock the water will be
pumped out, and the basin will be thoroughly cleaned.
APPOINTMENTS.
Commander—W. S. Thomas, to be inspecting officer
of the Largs district, in the Coast Guard Service.
Lieutenant—Charles Edward Powys, to command
Elmly Ferry Station.
PASSING DAY AT THE ROTALNAYAL COLLEGE.—The
following Acting-Lieutenants and Mates passed on Tues-
day last:—W. Bowden, G. Tyler, J. H. Alexander, J.
11. Cave, A. Mitchell, J. Packwood, S. Twyford, E. B.
llopkins, J. H. Glover, P. B. Shervell, J. Ward, and C.
E. Sidebottom.
ADMIRALTY VISIT TO SHEERNESS.—The Lords of the
Admiralty arrived at Sheerness on Friday, and landed
at one o'clock from their steam-yacht Black Eagle, under
the usual salute from the flag-ship, end a guard of honour
of the 72d Regiment. Their Lcrdships we re received
by Vice-Admiral the Hon. G. Elliot, K.C.8., port-admi-
ral, and the other officers of the port and dockyard. The
board mustered the men in the yard at three o'clock,
after which they inspected the establishment.
The speed of La Rogue, 56, steam guard-ship, on her
trial from Sheerness harbour to the Mouse Light, is
fnruished us as 9i knots per hour. Her engines
and machinery aro by Seaward and Co,
The North Star, 26, Master Commanding J. Saun-
ders, will be taken out of dock at Sheerness this day, and
towed to Deptford, where she will ship the stores, pro-
visions, &c. she is commissioned to carry to the suc-
cour of the expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin
and party.
The Dasher, steam-vessel, Lieutenant Parks, will
leave Sheerness to-day for Scotland.
Lightning, steam-vessel, Mr. Petley, master, RN.,
commanding, has embarked Vice-Admiral the lion.
G. Elliott, K.C.8., Port-Admiral at Sheerness, for
Grimsby, at the opening of whose docks the Admiral
will officiate.
THE REDUCTION OF THE FLEET. -- The Penelope,
steam-frigate, Captain L. T. Jones, will be paid off at
Portsmouth to-day. The St. Vincent, 120, Captain
Dacres, has been stripped, and hauled alongside the
jetty, at Portsmouth, where she will be paid off to-nsor-
row. The officers give their late Admiral and Captain
Dacres a farewell dinner on shore on the paying off.
The Queen, 110, Captain Bruce, is on her way home
from the Mediterranean station, to Devonport, to be
paid off. The Grecian, 16, Commander Tindal, is daily
expected at the latter port, from the Brazils station, to
be paid off there. The Calypso, 20, Captain Worth, is
expected this mouth at Portsmouth, with freight, after
which she will proceed to ono of' the eastern ports to be
paid off. The Hibernia, 104, will be home this month
from the Mediterranean, to be paid off at Plymouth.
The FavourLe, 18, Commander Murray, is daily ex-
pected at Portsmouth, to he paid off at the eastward.
The Nimrod, 20, Commander Belgrave, is also daily
expected from the Cape, to be paid off:
PORTSMOUTH, SUNDAY.—The stripping of the St.
Vincent, 120, Captain S. C. Dacres, was completed on
Friday night, and yesterday morning she was warped
up alongside the sheer jetty to get her masts out. This
was effected in the course of the day, and thus has this
enormous ship been completely stripped, masts out, and
reduced to a hulk, in somewhat less than five days! The
whole of her stares are returned.
When the Vanguard arrived at Plymouth, from Gib-
raltar, a few weeks since, a very large quantity of Ca-
vendish tobacco, illegally imported, was found on board,
and seized by the Customs' officers. The arrival of the
Plumper, Reynard, Sidon, St. Vincent, and Polyphemus,ilis
from the same port, caused the Customs' officers a
of considerable quantities of cigars, tobacco,altes of 1001.,
been made, and several convictions- n_l?
port to keep a sharp look out, and upwards of 2sOcs.o,isthuatrees
vheanvdeistahk, eanndpliasc
rate
for the pound at Gibraltar; hence
as
among the number of
sea-
men and marines to speculate, in
fls4endi.‘naonwdn4 ilds.Cpaer-
haseedteabtatbet
the
tobacco se
always to be found some ready to
purchased
foreign stations, are
o 9CCO offered them at
persons who crowd ships in harbour, on arrival from
pure
believed that the ships above-
named have have landed in this harbour nearly 10,0001bs. of
tobacco, the duty on which, we believe, should have been
haalisepraonfidt.earirtyisefnuily. shoreb,,lth t b
3s, a pound.
PORTSMOUTH, SUNDAY, Fivr. P.M.—N.E., unsettled
P.M.--
winds. a ith cold rainy weuth. r.
WooLwicli, APRIL is intended that the long
expected trial of
slots speed between the Basilisk and Niger
the tTs ormer fitted with paddle wheels and the
latter with a screw propeller, shall take place on Tues-
day, the 17th inst.
The Monkey steam vessel, Master Commander Bryant,
was engaged the greater part of yesterday in laying
down moorings to hold the convict ships now used for
the convicts allotted to the Dayal Arsenal instead of ,he
Justitia, from which they were removed shortly after
the cholera broke out in her. The convict ships Sul-
phur and Hebe aro at present moored off the dockyard,
but they will be removed in a few days to the new moor-
ings opposite the Royal Arsenal, as more convenient
for getting on shore to their work.
His Highness the Pacha of Egypt's 50 Run
a screw
gun frigate
fitted with engines of 550-horse power a
propeller, by Messrs. Miller,
oltooluv ete na
a
tried down the river on Monday or
'n her from this
Blackwell, at present in the East IndihaillT7oucekadsiayiswtoeebke.
There are five en.eineers going
nd
c2un.try,dadriltdionthteoytahreeirtorahtiaons consisting 0
raf
noCno ampleh.ao at
pay, in a
supply of beef, mutton, and flour, with the usual liquors
used in England.
The Randolph, hired convict
fur Port Philip, with 300 good-conduot
yes-
terday afternoon
ship, left Woolwich
convicts on board, who are to receive free ticket; on

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