The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-22 00:00:00

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NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

(From the Portsmouth Herald of Sunday.)
PoitTsMOUTII, Nov. 13.—His Majesty's cutter
Cracker, Lieutenant Roepel, arrived on Sunday
from Cromarty Bay, Scotland, where she has been
employed since the beg;nning of August, in en-
forcing the quarantine regulations. She will sail in
a few days for Jersey, to give protection to the oyster
fishery, in conjunction with the Sylvia cutter.
His Majesty's ship Madagascar, 46, Captain
E. Lyons, (of his iNlajesry's ship Blonde) arrived
on Tuesday, from the Mediterranean. She lift
Malta on the 21st ult. in company with his Ma-•
jesty's ship Kent, 76, Captain Samuel Pym, C. 8.,
which arrived on the following day, both ships having
on board companies of the 85th Regiment, and
thirty-one invalided seamen from the squadron. The
ships on the station were thus disposed of :—His
Majesty's ship St. Vincent, 120, flag-ship, Ganges,
81, Alfred, 50, Rainbow, 28, and Alban, steam-
vessel, were at Malta ; Pelican, IS, at Corfu; Wild,
critter, at Naples; Scylla, 18, Raleigh, 18, and
Ferret, 10, were cruising in the Archipelago; Bel-
videra, 42, Pirilomel, H, and Procris, 10, were at
Napoli di Romania, their several crews being in the
best possible health. Mr. George Wheeler, Mid-
shipman of his Majesty's ship Kent, died on the
passage home, on the 30th tilt. The 85th Regi-
ment have been disembarked, and marched to Win-
chester. The Kent remains at Spithead, awaiting
orders. The Madagascar is ordered to be paid off
at this port. We have accounts from Malta of a
later date, in a letter dated the 27th ult., to which
we refer.

His Majesty's ship Alligator, 28, Captain G. R.
Lambert, \vent out of harbour on Friday. She
►will be paid alvanced wages on Monday, and sail
immediately for the East Indies, with despatches for
the Commander-in-Chief on that station. His Ma-
jesty's ship Curacoa, 24, and Imogene, 28, will also
proceed to the same destination, on their return to
Spit head, from Rear-Admiral Warren's squadron.
His Majesty's yacht Royal George, Captain Lord
A. Fitzelatence, having been three years in commis-
sion, will he paid off in a few days, and re-commis-
sioned. Her new tender, Pantaloon, Lieutenant
Dawson, came in on Friday from the river, to be
attached, in fOOlll of the Onyx, lately fitted out as a
gun. brig.
His Majesty's surveying-vessel, /Erna, 6, Com-
mander Belcher, is ready to proceed to the Coast,
as soon as her complement of seamen shall be ob-
tained.

His Majesty's steamer Confiance, 2, Lieutenant
H. F. Belson, sailed yesterday for Woolwich.
The Wanderer, transport, Lieutenant Alexander
Young, agent, arrived on Friday last from Quebec,
with a company of Sappers and Miners, and invalids
from the different regiments in Canada. When
the Wanderer left Quebec, the Layton and Manlius,
transports, were on the eve of embarking the 71st
Regiment for Bermuda, with which it was origi-
nally intended they should proceed to that island
direct ; but in consequence of a report that the
Boundary Uric, near the Madawaska Settlement,
had been infringed on, they were ordered to call at
Halifax to know whether their services might be re-
quired. The Wand,rer brought borne Colonel
Roberts, of the Royal Artillery; Captain Mellish,
and Lieutenant Luxrnore, of the Royal Engineers :
and Colonel Dartiford, of the Royal Engineers, his
lady, seven daughters, and two sons ; and Mr.
Seaton, Ordnance Surgeon, and his lady.
The Britomart, transport, Lieutenant Burnwood,
agent, arrived from Fernando Po on Friday, with
the following passengers :—Mr. John Salter, late
Agent Victualler at Sierra Leone; Mr. Beattie, Co-
lonial Officer; Ensign Smelhe, of the Royal African
o
Corps ; and Messrs. Lloyd and Williams, civilians
Fernando Po. She brings also returned Govern-
ment stores. The detachment of Royal Marines,:under
the command of Colonel Nichols, consisting of
twenty-four, which went out to Fernando Po in
this vessel, in July last, were all dead bur six, when
the Britomart left. Lieutenant Sullivan, R.N., who
also went out in the Britomart at the same time to
join the Plumper, gun-brig, on the African station,
had also died at Fernando Po. How often shall we
have to record the fatal effects of this pestilential
climate, which has already been the grave of so
many valuable officers and men ? We must be
pardoned for the strength of the expression by
which we convey our sense of the impropriety of
keeping up this settlement, when we say we consi-
der it little short of murder to continue to send our
fellow countrymen to a climate so destructive to
Europeans.
The Oscar, freight-ship, arrived from Dover on
Friday, to receive a detachment of the 7th (Fusi-
leers) for Malta. She will sail the moment the
wind will permit.
The Leonidas, transport, Lieut. Wooldridge,
agent, arrived on Wednesday from Woolwich, on
her way to Dublin and Cork, with two companies
of Royal Marine Artillery. She will proceed thence
to Barbadoes.
The following transports, &c. are wind-bound at
this port, viz :—Marshal Bennett, Lieut. Ward
agent, for Jersey, Plymouth, and Barbadoes. The
Leonidas, Lieut. Woolridge, agent, for Dublin and
Barbadoes. The Maitland, Lieut. Davison, agent ;
Lord Wellington, Lieut. Woodman, agent ; Rodin
Castle, Lieut. Derriman, agent, for Cork and
Jamaica. The Crawford Davison, freight ship, for
Bermuda. The Gilmore, male convict ship, with
221, convicts under the charge of Dr. Roberts, R.N.
for Van Dieman's Land. The Portland, mala con-
vict ship, with 178 convicts, under charge of Dr.
Cooke, R.N. for New South Wales. The Sylvia,
transport, Lieut. Wesley, agent; the Marquis of
Huntley, transport, Lieut. Mayne, agent; and Sten-
tor, transport, Lieut.
.Barber, agent ; will proceed
next week (wind permitting) for Cork and Dublin,
to receive on board troops for the Mediterranean.—

The Hope, transport, Lieut. Ryder, agent ; and the
Catherine Stewart Forbes, transport, Lieut. Godden,
agent, the former from the river, and the latter
from Alulta, are delivering returned stores in the
dock-yard.
At Spitheatl—Caledonia, Kent, Revenge, Mada-
gascar, and Alligator; Leonidas, Maitland, Lord
Wellington, 'Wanderer, Cygnet, Britomurt, Roslin
Castle, and Marshal Benne, t transports.
In Harlytur—Victoty, Britannia, Royal George,
Melville, 'Etna, Cracker, and Pantaloon.

PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS.—Mr. C. D.
Keane is appointed Assistant-Surgeon of the Raven,
cutter. Mr. J. Moncur is appointed Schoolmaster
to his Majesty's ship Alfred. Mr. R. P. Hillyar,
Surgeon of his Majesty's ship Revenge, is appointed
to his Maje-ty's ship Caledonia, vice Riske, to half-
pay. Dr. N. W. Roche is appointed Surgeon uf
his Majesty's ship Revenge, vice Hillyar. Mr. G.
Biddlecombe is appointed Second Master of his
Majesty's saip _,Etna, surveying vessel. Mr. Browne,
Second Master of the Cracker, cutter, is promoted
to the reek of Master, and appointed to his 'Ma-
jesty's ship Pi torus. Mr. G. A. F. Danverz is ap-
pointed Second Lieutenant of the Chatham Divi-
sion of Royal Marines, vice Rea, removed to the
Royal Mitine Artillery.
Capt. Edward Curzon, C.B. (late Flag Captain
to Vice-Admiral Sir E. Codrington), relinquished
the command of his Majesty's ship Caledonia, on
Tuesday, having been superseded by Captain J.
Hillyar, CB. of his Majesty's ship Revenge. The
Caledonia will sail on Sunday for Plymouth, weather
permitting.
Captain Donald 11. Mackay assumed the com-
mand of his Majesty's ship Revenge, 76, on Mon-
day, vice Captain James Hillyar, C.B. removed to
his Majesty's ship Caledonia. The Revenge is
nearly ready for sea, and will proceed to Lisbon in
about ten days, with provisions for the squadron in
the Tagus, and, it is said, to relieve his Majesty's
ship Asia, 81, Cap'. Hyde Pal ker.
Part of the crew of his Majesty's ship Britannia,
120, who have served their three years, will be
paid off in the course of the week.
The Pantaloon, constructed by Captain Symonds,
which has taken the place of the Onyx, tender to
the Royal George yacht, has not yet got her gulls
on board, nor do we know the exact nature of the
ordnance with which she is to be armed ; but, from
her appearance, we should fear that, when all her
guns and stores are on board, her ports will be too
near the water, and that, like the Columbine, her
efficiency as a fighting ship, in blowing weather, will
be thereby greatly compromised.
When his Majesty's ship St. Vincent left this
port, she was supplEed with two topmasts on a new
principle invented by Sir R. Seppings. The object
of this plan was to bring in shorter pieces of timber
for topmasts, by which a considerable saving would
have been effected. The proposed plan was to
make the mast of /too pieces instead of one as here-
tofore. The two pieces were placed end to end,
about three or four feet under the cap, and they
were united together by means of a piece of oak,
seven feet in length and ten inches in diameter, and
which was inserted half in the upper and half in
the lower piece. A wide iron hoop was then placed
orer the joint of the two pieces, to secure them.—
We undertand that after trying the above on board
the Si. Vincent, it was not approved by the Ad-
miral and officers of that ship, and the masts were
accordingly sent home. Indeed, when we reflect on
the prodigious strain to which a topmast is liable,
we almost fear the plan will not answer. Consider-
ing, however, the amount of the saving which such
an arrangement would ensure, we cannot but think
that the plan, at any rate, is entitled to a fair trial,
arid it is but justice to the inventor to observe that
the two masts in question, which have been returned
from the St. Vincent, do not betray any great
symptoms of weakness.
The heads of his Majesty's ship Melville and
Victory, in this harbour, are now being altered ac-
cording to a plan adopted by Sir Pulteney Malcolm,
in his Majesty's ship Britannia. The plan certainly
contributes materially to the cleanliness of the ship,
and to the personal comfort of the crew. We cannot
enter into detail, but must content ourselves by ob-
serving that by the contemplated alteration, all the
dirt, ashes, water, and nuisances of cveiy description
are conveyed by one large shoot or pipe into the
water. We have beard that the idea was first taken
from a Russian ship.
Extract of a letter from an officer of his Majesty's
ship St. Vincen', dated Malta, Oct. 27 :—" An
Admiralty messenger leaves this morning by steamer,
on his return to London, vice Marseilles; and as he
fully calculates on arriving in London this day
week, I think it may be desirable to take advantage
of so good an opportunity of giving you the latest
news. This is, I understand, the first steamer
which has left Malta for Marseilles, Col. Henry Muir-
head has been sworn in as acting Lieut.-Governor of
these islands, in the absence of Major-General Sir
Frederick Ponsonby, Lieut.-Governor of Malta and
its dependencies. His Majesty's ship Rainbow,
Captain Sir J. Franklin, arrived on the 20th inst.
in eighteen days from Corfu. His Majesty's steamer
Messenger, arrived on the 23d. She left Falmouth
on the 10th, Cadiz on the 15th, and Gibraltar, on
the 17th. The Cardelia sailed from hence for Mar-
seilles, and the Pelican for Corfu, on the 23d. The
Kent and Madagascar sailed on the 21st, for Eng-
land, with the 85th Regiment on board. The
Ferret has gone to Smyrna, and the Procris to Na-
poli. The Donegal, I learn, passed Gibraltar on the
Bth, but she has not yet arrived, easterly winds hav-
ing prevailed during the whole of this month. The
inhabitants regret very much the departure of the
85th Regiment from this station, and public testi-
mony has not been wanting to confirm the general
esteem in which this gallant corps bas been held by
the society of Malta. In the expression of this
feeling, the ladies took the lead, arid paid the Co-
lonel and the officers the enviable compliment of
inviting them, on the Monday evening preceding
their embarkation, to a ball and supper, the lhilliancy
of which will long be remembered in this island.
On the following day, the officers of the garrison en-
tertained them at a splendid dinner. From Alex-
andria, to change the subject, we hear by letters in
reference to the cholera, that this terrible disorder
ceased, thank God, on the 20th of September, hav-
ing carried off nearly four per cent. of the inhabitants.
The mortality on board the English ships has been
greater than amongst any other Europeans. At
Cairo the mortality has been dreadfully severe.
The horrid disease has also made its destructive pro-
gress up the Nile, from Cairo, infecting Siout and
the country round about, and it has reached Luxor
(Thebes). The Pacha lost, about a fortnight ago,
one of his finest corvettes en the reefs of Alexandria,
gtgetl:nnl:sa:moefl u ka e ,C
Court-martial.
shot-m art
aflo.r his h misdeed,e
expeditiony
in the finest weather imaginable. The Commander,
St. John d'Acre is again spoken of, as if it
aaotwhgfyoealuoioisluideinti take place immediately. The Mehmid Ali,
is nearly ready for sea. His Highness
lost 600 sailors and 900 soldiers by the cholera.
The squadron are exceedingly healthy. We have a
very fine battalion of Royal Marines under the corn-
, mend of Captain D. J. Ballingall. The new vol-
cano remains in a perfectly quiescent state, but the
sea still continues to boil for a space, including sixty
yards in length, on the North West side."

CAPTAIN BEECHEY'S VOYAGE TO THE
Paciric.—( Third edition, in 8 vo. ju,t published. )--" The
narrative of Captain BEECHET, we venture to predict, will
be generally considered as the most interesting of the whole
series of Voyages to the North Pole. Part of this distinc-
tion it undoubtedly owes to the much greater variety and
extent of his field of observation, but part of it likewise
blongs to the superiority of his powers of observation, or
the faculty which, from internal evidence, we infer he
possesses in a high degree, of seizing the most characteristic
points of any subject. But the chief interest of every
book of travels lies in those parts which relate to human
beings, and as Captain BEECHEY'S skill in condensint,
what he has to siy, respecting the great variety of native
tribes with which he communicated, never flags, we are
certain to be amused at every new place where he lands.
The engravings are admirable.".—.Quarterly Review.