The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-07 00:00:00

NAVAL IN TELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, THURSDAY.—Commander H. E. Beau-
champ (1846) is appointed to commission the Heels
steam sloop of 240 horse power, at Devonport.
Her Majesty's dispatch-boat Elfin, Master-Commander
Balliston, is ordered a figure-head and cutwater to im-
prove her appearance.
The Fire Queen and Myrtle steam-tenders, Masters-
Commandiug Allen and Braddon' are ordered to be paid
off and placed in ordinary, and the Sprightly steamer is
to be commissioned by Mr. Allen for port service.

THE PACIFIC SQUADRON.
Extract of a letter:—" Her Majesty's ship Driver,
Commander Johnson, arrived at Valparaiso on the 11th
of ,June. She left.telonte Video on the morning of the
28th :of, April, but ~in consequence of the succession of
south-*+est gales sellch she met, and as she made it a
sailing voyage to prevent expense of fuel, she did not
reach the entrance to the Strait's of Magellan until the
afternoon of the 14th of May. In the Straits she met
with very strong westerly winds; steam was needed, of
course, as she could not do anything with canvass, and
being obliged to anchor as night came on, she did not
average more than sixty miles each day, not having
more than seven hours' daylight. Large herds of
guanacoes were seen by her in the vicinity of Gre-
gory Bay; she intended wooding at Port Famine,
but found the landing so bad that she moved on to
Bougainville-bay, where a most convenient cove affords
great facility in that way. A party was sent on shore,
and in three days procured upwards of eighty tons of
wood for the use of steam. From personal observation I
can state (says our correspondent) that the small Chilian
colony at Port Famine is a wretched place, and in
wretched condition. No ground . . cultivated except a
small patch by an old Italian priest, of the Dominican
order. We expected to be able to replenish stock there,
but found the people more in want themselves than in a
condition to supply us. There are about 200 persons in
all. The present site is anything but a favourable one
for the colony, and it is proposed to move it to Sandy-
point, a place about twenty-three miles to the south-
ward, in the vicinity of which coal-mines have been
found, and I am told preparations
will shortly be made
to export the coal to Valparaiso; it is of good quality,
and can be got with ease. The number of vessels that
nave passed since the Ist of January this year through
the straits has been greater than known at any previous
year; twenty-nine vessels, principally American, bound
The vessel was very much
strained, of her experienced
for California, have gone through. On the morning of
y sea running outside, and
the 25th of May the Driver cleared the Straits of Magel-
lan,b ow andin a
strongfoundd by the
reov
excellent
xr very hi.
N.W.
navi
master, she managed toreach the entrance to Lord Nelson
Strait on the morning of the 26th of May. She soon got
into smooth water again, and steamed between the laby-
rinth of islands up to the Gulf of Penas in lat. 47 deg.
46 sec. south. This passage was a great task, as the
charts are anything but clear to guide the navigator
through a channel formed by so many and so imperfectly
laid down islands of all shapes and sixes. Leaving the
Gulf of Penas she met with comparatively moderate
weather, and on the 1 lth of June, at noon, she reached
Valparaiso, having been 44 days from Monte Video,
and, considering the many stoppages in the straits, is
considered not a bad passage.
"Rear-Admiral Hornby's flag is flying on board the
Gorgon steam- sloop in the bay, together with the Daphne,
Driver, Cockatrice, and Nereus.
" The Asia, 84, Captain Stopford, sailed for Coquimbo
and Callao on the 6th of June, to remain at the latter
place until September.
" The Champion, 14, is at Callao, with the Naiad
depot ship.
" The Inconstant, 36, is at San Francisco, Upper Ca-
lifornia.

" The Constance, 50, is en route from Mazatlan to
Valparaiso, with freight.
" The Amphitrite, 25, is at the Sandwich Islands.
" The Daphne will leave Valparaiso in a few days for
the Fegee Islands, thence to the Sandwich Islands, &c.
"Lieutenant E. D. Ashe, First-Lieutenant of the
Daphne, was invalided on the 28th of June, in conse-
quence of his being in a weak Mare from baying his leg
broken whilst that ship was at Madeira, by the cable
surging ; he remains at Valparaiso to go home in the
Constance."
PLYMOUTH, SEPT. 6.—The Admiralty steamer Black
Eagle. with Admiral Duedas and family on board, came
in from Portsmouth on Tuesday; she h•id a defect in
her boilers, and having coaled will sail for Pembroke
to-day.
The Spartan, 22, was taken, on Tuesday, into No. 5
dock, to have her bottom examined.

The Heels steamer is to be brought forward imme-
diately for commission.
The Niobe, 28, building in No. 1 slip, will be launched
on Tuesday the 18th inst.
The Bombay, 84, was on Monday towed alongside the
sheer hulk ; her masts were unshipped, and taken on
the sth inst. into the yard for examination.
On Monday next, the 10th inst., a general survey of
all the stores in the dockyard will be commenced.
The sloop Ringdove, used as a hulk in the river
Yealm during the prevalence of cholera at Noss, was,
in consequence of its abatement, withdrawn on the 4th
inst., and taken by Mr. Walker, harbour-master, to her
moorings in Hamoaze.
The ship Herefordshire, of London, Captain Richard-
son, laden with cotton, from Bombay, was off this port
yesterday, and landed passengers—Mr. A. H. H. Mercer,
of the 60th Regiment Royal Miles, and lady, Dr.
M‘B”eth, and Mrs. rrotheroe and two children; Mr.
Protheroe died the second day after leaving Bombay,
and was buried at sea. The Herefordshire has on board
about 120 military invalids from the 24th, 29th, and
78th Regiments. She has had fine weather during the
passage, and on the 29th ult., off the Western Islauds,
spoke her Majesty's brig Scout, outward bound.
The ship Artemise, Captain Miihommed Ben Hamees,
belonging to his Highness the Imaum of Muscat, left this
port on the 3d instant for her destination, Zanzibar. She
burdens about 500 tons, has a crew of 45 men, and took
on board in the Thames a general cargo of British mer-
chandise, including looking-glasses stud chandeliers to
the value of 20,0001., for the private use of his Highness
the Imaum. While in the river four of her crew deserted,
and not knowing that the Artemise had put in here
applied to their Consul, in London, for conveyance to
Arabia, when their application was met by the promise
of a passage in their own ship, to which they were sent
per steamer last Saturday. About ten days since one of
the men, in a state of nudity, swam ashore and took
shelter in a copse near Plymstock, where be remained
many hours without food. Tho neighbours at length
fed him and gave him clothes, and believing his state-
ment, that he would be liable to rough usage from his
comrades, they resisted the attempt of a Plymouth
policeman to convey him on board. Be is now occupying
a cave in a rock at Hooe Lake, and seems perfectly at
home.

OUTGOING MAILS TOR. THE PRESENT MONTH.—
The following foreign and colonial mails will be made
up at the General Post-office dnring the current month
—Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Madeira via Lisbon, Cadiz, and
Gibraltar, on the mornings of the 7th (this morning),
17. h, and 27th inst., by steam packets from South-
ampton; British North America and the United States on
the evening of the 7th (this evening), by steam-packets
via Liverpool, Halifax, and New York; on the evening
of the 14th to Boston; on the evening of the 21st to New
York, and the evening of the 28th inst. to Boston. The
Mediterranean, Malta, Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, India,
Hong Kong, and China, on the evenings of the 7th (this
evening), and 24th inst. by the fortnightly overland
closed mails via Marseilles, Gibraltar, Malta, Greece,
the. lonian Islands,
Egypt, Aden, Ceylon, Mauritius,
India, &c., on the morning of the 20th inst. by the steam
packet from Southampton. British and foreign colonies
in the West Indies (except Honduras, Nassau, Bermuda,
New Orleans,Havannah, and Mexico), Venezuela
Jacmel, Madeira, Grey-town (San Juan de Nicaragua),
New Granada, Chili, and Peru, on tithe morning of the
17th inst. by steam-packet via Southampton, Sydney,
New South Wales, Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and
New Zealand, by ship letter-bags as vessels may sail
from London, Liverpool, &c. (newspapers 'must be paid
Id. each). France, &a., daily, morning
aid evening
(Sundays excepted), by steam-packets via Dover and
Calais, Balgium, &a., daily, every evening (except Sun-
day), vid Dover and (Mend; Hamburgh, Tuesday
and Friday evenings; &c., Wednesday and
Saturday mornings, by the General Steam Navigation
Company's packets via the Thames.
WORCESTER, SEPT. s.—The warm weather for the
last ten days, coupled with the late soaking rains, has
done wonders for the hops, and the improvement in the
plantations has both astonished and pleased the growers,
who, with half a crop, will no doubt gain more by extra
price than they did by their last year's produce; though
fortune has been very partial its her favours, for in some
parishes the produce will equal that of last year, while
in others the crop will be scarcely worth gathering.
The duty both for the district and the kingdom hat
rapidly advanced, the former from 7,000/. to 9,0001., the
latter from 65,000/ to 100.0001., at which they are freely
backed. The market is almost at a stand, although
hops are offered much lower.— Worcester Journal.
The Marquis of Anglesey, the Lord-Lieutenant of
this county, has arrived at Beaudesert in perfect health,
and has enjoyed good sport in grouse shooting.-- Wolver-
hampton Chronicle.. _-„