The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-20 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, MONDAY.—Major Stevens, of the Royal
Marine Artil!ery, is appointed Inspector of Dockyards, in
conjunction with a naval officer who will hereafter be no-
winated.

Courts-martial will be held to-morrow on board the St.
Vincent to try Lieutenant Gill, of the Mutine, for drunken-
ness, and Lieutenant Heath, of the Hyacinth, who was offi-
cer of the watch when that vessel ran foul of the Wanderer,
merchant barque, for his participation in that accident.
The Hyacinth, 18, Commander Scott, will he paid off on
Wednesday, and the Wanderer, the vessel with which she
came in collision, is under repair at the expense of Govern-
ment; so that it appears they are satisfied the Hyacinth
was in fault.

The Crocodile, 8, Lieutenant-commanding S. R. Protheroe,
will be paid in advance on Thursday.
Thirty of the St. Vincent's crew have been sent in charge
of an officer by train to London, thence to proceed to Sheer-
ness, to fit the Cyclops steamer, recently paid off at that
port, for immediate service in carrying provisions to Ire-
land.

The officers and crew of the Sidon steam-frigate, Captain
Henderson, have received orders to complete the fitting of
the Dauntless, commenced by the dockyard riggers, and,
when ready, to navigate her to Glasgow to get her engines.
They commenced operations to-day.
PORTS3IOCTII, TUESDAY.—A court-martial, comprising
Rear-Admiral Hvde Parker, President; Captain Chads, of
the Excellent; Captain Henderson, of the• Sidon; Captain
Milne, of the St. Vincent; Commander Tryon of the
Mutine ; and Mr. G. L. Greetham, Deputy Judge Advodate
of the Fleet; assembled this morni►,g on board the flag-ship
St. Vincent, to try Mr. Heath, third lieutenant of the Hy-
acinth, 18, Commander Scott, who was officer of the watch
at the time that vessel ran foul of the Wanderer, merchant
bark, on the morning of the 12th inst., for alleged neglect of
duty on the said occasion, whereby considerable damage was
sus, ained by both vessels.
Captain Pasco, of the Victory, was ordered to sit as a
member of the Court, but was objected to by the prisoner,
he (Captain Pasco) having, after an inquiry, made the report
to the Admiralty upon which the present trial was founded,
and Commander Tryon, as next in seniority, was sworn in
his stead.

Illr. James Hoskin's, solicitor, of Gosport, officiated as the
prisoner's "friend."
The charge was, " For that you, on the 12th day of
January, 1847, being at the time in actual service and full
pay of her Majesty's fleet, and officer of the watch on board
the said sloop (Hyacinth), did improperly omit to have the
helm of the said sloop put down as soon as a certain bark,
called the Wanderer, steering down channel, was first seen
from the said sloop as going before the wind, by which omis-
sion the said sloop and barque came into collision and re-
ceived damage."
After a most patient investigation, and eloquent defence,
the Court acquitted the prisoner.
On the conclusion of the above, another Court was sworn
in, comprising Captain Pasco in the room of Commander
Tyron, but as Senior Captain, to try Mr. Gill, Second Lieu-
tenant of the Mutine, 12, ammander Tyron, on a charge
of drunkenness, preferred by his commander, which was
proved, and he was sentenced to be dismissed the service.
The Scourge steam-sloop, Commander J. C. Catlin, returned
to Spithead last night at nine o'clock, having been detained
at the wreck (for we must now call it so) of the Sphynx,
since she left this harbour on Sunday morning. She came
up for more assistance, and a dockyard lump, with anchors,
cables, and a gang of riggers, have been Lent by the Scourge
to-day at noon. About sixty shipwrights, and a number of
engineers, under the direction of Mr. Watts, one of the
builders' assistants, together with a detachment of marines
to guard any property that may be landed from her, have
also been dispatched.
A dreadful accident occurred at the wreck yesterday. A
cutter belonging to the Scourge, under the charge of kr.
Harris, gunner of that vessel, while in the act of endeavour-
ing to reach the Sphynx, was caught in the curl of the surf,
instantly capsized, and Mr. Harris and six men were
drowned. Two were with difficulty saved, mainly by the ex-
ertions of Mr. Wallis, master of the Sphynx, who was se-
verely cut about the face, and had two of his ribs fractured,
in his act of humanity. The Sphynx is about 300 yards to
the eastward of Brook Coast Guard station, and is forming
herself a bed in the clayey soil of the beach, close to the face
of the cliff.
A party of hands, from the Sidon, to assist in manning the
Avenger, sailed in the Vulcan revenue steamer this morning
for Plymouth.

The Adventure naval transport and the Sinbad lighter
sailed to-day with provisions for Cork.
Mr. John Mallard, late senior clerk of the St. Vincent,
disd in Ilaslar Hospital, after three days' illness, of pneumo-
nia, aged 45. The deceased officer was formerly fur many
years, and indeed until lately, young gentlemen's school-
master upon the old system, but being past the age to qualify
him for the position of naval instructor on the new system,
he returned to his original position as a clerk in order to
obtain his rank ultimately as paymaster and purser, which
he had long been entitled to, having passed for that rank in
1833. Ile had been in various flag ships at this port during
the last 11 years, and was much respected in them all, par-
ticularly by his messmates and the youngsters, of whom he
always took a fatherly charge. His remains were interred
yesterday at the cemetery at Kingston, in the same tomb as
his wife, and were followed to their last resting-place by
come of the ward-room and most of the gun-room officers of
the ships in commission in this harbour. His own messmates
in the gun-room of the St. Vincent each subscribed hand-
somely according to his means towards the funeral expenses,
as did two officers in the ward-room (the surgeon and purser)
not from the necessity of a subscription for that purpose, but
to mark their respect for his memory.

PRICE OF GOLD, TUESDAY EVENING.—The pre-
mium on gold at Paris is 11 per mille, which at the English
Mint price of Si. 17s. 101/2d. per ounce for standard gold,
gives an exe ange of 25.42; and the exchange at Paris on
London at short being 25.35, it follows that gold is 0.28 per
cent. dearer in Paris than in London. By advices from
Hamburgh the price of gold is 4321/o per mark, -which, at
the English mint price of 3!. 17'. 101/0, per ounce fur stan-
dard gold, gives au exchange of 13.8z,4 ; and the exchange
at Hamburgh on London at short being 13.5 i, it follows that
gold is 1.50 per cent. dearer in Hamburgh than in London.
The course of exchange at New York on London is 10514
per cent., and the par of exchange between England and
America being 109 23-40 per cent.,_ it follows• that the ex-
change is 4.08 per cent. against England. But the quoted
exchange at New York being for bills at 60 days' sight,
tke interest must be deducted from the above difference.

THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE EASTERN
COUNTIES RAILwAY.—It will be gratifying to know that
the whole of the sufferers in the accident which took place
at the Stratford station of the Eastern Counties Railway, in
the month of September last, have been fully compensated
for their injuries by the company. Amongst the sufferers
was a poor woman named Smitb, residing at Chigwell, in
Essex, who unfortunately had both her legs broken, and for
whose recovery the company was most solicitous, Mr.
Roney, the secretary, and some of the directors, frequently
visiting her. On Thursday last, having become convales
cent, she was presented with 600 grineas by the company,
as some amends for the injury she had sustained. At the
request of Mr. William Cotton, who, we regret to hear,
"still feels the effects of the injury to his head by the same
accident, a large sum of money was paid by the company
to the Bethnal-grem schools, instead of to himself, he with-
drawing the action he had commenced against the company.
SUICIDE IN THE PUBLIC STREETS FROM STARVA-
TION. —An inquest was held on Tuesday, before Mr. W.
Payne, City Coroner, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, on the
body of Robert Bland, aged 34, who committed suicide in the
public streets under the following circumstances :—John
Nicholls, police-constable 240, of the City police, said that on
Monday morning, about half-past four o'clock, he was on
duty in King-street, Snow Hill, when he saw a man lying on
the pavement, and on going over found the deceased. On
questioning him he said that he had taken some laudanum,
which he had procured at six different shops. The sergeant
coming up they took him to the station house, and then con-
veyed him to the hospital. He stated that his name was
Robert Bland, and gave his address Salford, near Manchester,
and that he was a coach painter by trade; he said he was
destitute and had no friends to go to, and that he had done it
front want; that he was tired of his life, and that he thought
he might as well die, as live in the wretched state he was
then lMng in. Mr. P. J. Hurlock, resident medical officer at
St. Bartholomew's Hospital, said he saw the deceased about
twenty minutes before five o'clock, and seeing him very col-
lected, addressed him upon the impropriety of the steps he
had been taking, when he said he had been driven to it by
parting with his last shilling. There was a wanting of the
strongest evidence of his having taken laudanum, by the eyes
not being contracted. Upon the stomach pinup being ap-
plied, he fell back in his chair and immediately expired. It
was his opinion that the coldness of the night, with his irre-
gularities of life, naTely, insufficiency of diet or no diet at all,
had, as much as laudanum, produced death. He had not
made a post mortem examination, and, therefore, could not
state what was the cause of death. Two drachms of lauda-
num upon an empty stomach would be enough to destroy life.
In answer to a juror, Mr. Hurlock said he never saw a person
die under the application of the stomach pump before, but he
thought it might have been caused by the difficulty of
breathing usual on the stomach pumpbeing applied, and also
to its being a very cold night. He was of opinion, that if a
post mortem examination was made, he should not be able to
trace laudanum, but he thought that, jointly with other
causes, had produced death. The inquiry, after lasting acon-
t-iderable time, was adjourned for a post mortem examination,
the jury being most the inedie'l eviarmee.
o t Fe

. _
()%71,4.1:, Sir Augii.tkl, !_.,IV ,;:. P,chttai. and ('
Kincaid, with a party of the yeomen ut her ALtjebLy b Be
Guard, made the usual search in the vaults beneath the
House of Lords, preparatory to the opening of Parliament.