The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-31 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIG7EIZCZ,

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 30.—0 n the 31st inst. ei:l the
semaphore or telegraph stations, from the Admin.
at Whitehall to this dockyard, will be closed au d
their occupants discharged, the masts of the tete..
graphs being housed in for the future. Such is tfisk
nature of an Admiralty order some time since issuedl
and at present in force.
The case of the semaphore officer is a hard one..
The semaphore has been the home of many a veteran
lieutenant, the last berth to be given—the very last-
to be.asked or accepted as long as a spark of hope
remained of obtaining anything better, but now eve*
this resource is no longer available. The following
lilt shows the names, dates of commission as lieu-
tenants, at what semaphore employed, and the date of'
appointment thereto of those thus engaged, by which.
it will be seen that there is reason and justice for this
complaint :
Lieutenant William V. Lee, Chelsea station ; date
of commission Oct. 27, 1827 ; date of appointnainat
dune 20, 1844.
Lieutenant Lardner Dennys, Putney station ; date
of commission Feb. 6, 1812 ; date of appointment
March 16, 1847.
Lieutenant William H. Dixon, Kingston station;
date of commission May 25, 1807; date of appoint*
ment Nov. 15, 1841.
Lieutenant Thomas Wright, Esher (Cooper's Hill)
date of commission Feb. 17, 1815 ; date of.
awitriaitt-jtire 20, 1844.
Lieutenant Edward Robinson, Cobham station;
date of commission April 15, 1813 ; date of appoint-
merit -May 5, 1847.
Lieutenant James Poad, Pewly Hill station ; date

,
of. commission Aug. 24, 1812; data of appointment
Nov. 25, 1841. _ _

Lieutenant George Blurton, Godalming station ;
date of commission April 15, 1813 ; date of appoint-;.
went July 28, 1838.
Lieutenant Joseph Williams, Haslemere station,;
date of commission Nov. 17, 1807; date of appoint-
ment March 22, 1847.
Lieutenant Thomas Hills, Midhurst station ; date
of commission Nov. 7, 1806 ; date of appointment
Nov. 25, 1841.
Lieutenant
Henry Garrett, Petersfield station ;
date of commission Aug. 21, 1809 ; date of appoint-
ment Dec. 8, 1841.
Lieutenant George Fraser, Petersfield (Compton
Down) station ; date of commission Nov. 1, 1821;
date of appointment Nov. 30, 1839.
Lieutenant John Wildey, Bedhampton station; date
of commission Feb. 21, 1817 ; date of appointment
Oct.t. T
6, 1841.ment March IA
ateof p
station;apo itn.
April
10, 07 ; d
Four of the :lit: 0%42.
are
Hotham's action of :795 ; • one was a matealp.§tr
ITrafalgar men ; one w. as in
Richard Strachan's actions .7 180 lehn ex peditilon ;
tenant of the Denmark in the W.—
s;eone was L
r'e--others have
one lost a leg at Navarino ; and all te... -vice.
distinguished themselves in their country's se-
We are all aware of the proneness to derangeme•—
of the electric mode of communication, and its ten.
vices have not been available on some of the most im.
portant and interesting occasions. 'What, for instance,
would be easier than tor any evil disposed person to
cut the wires of the electric telegraph in any obscure
place on this line ? The means of communication
would be at once annihilated, and a considerable space
of time lost in repairing the damage. Such mischief
as this could not be perpetrated upon the semaphore;
there the Government had an exclusive and safe, as
well as speedy means of communicating their com-
mands or instructions always at their own disposal.
It will now be dependent on the fallibility of the
electric mode, for the officers and men of the semaphore"
once discharged, those heretofore valuable appliance*
to the sources of speedy intelligence cannot be 4"
worked again without a complete reorganization of
the system of instruction, as it takes years to
thoroughly comprehend the vocabulary of figures by
means of which all the Government notifications are
made. Many of the assistants to lieutenants in the
semaphores have been upwards of a quarter of a cen-
tury acquiring and practising their duties. It will
shor..r.r. be no easy task to resuscitate a system such
as this, if once allowed to lapse into desuetude. At
all events, whatever may be the resolution of the
Admiarlty with regard to the disposal of the stations
and the telegraphs, we trust those who have hitherto
looked to them as their last resource will receive some
" consideration" for the lass of their appoh2tments,
especially those who, from the shortness of their
tenure or other ill luck, may more particularly have
deserved compensation.
The Cygnet brigantine will sail on Saturday, after
post time, for the coast of Africa station. She takes'
out mails for Madeira, St. Jago (Cape Verds), Sierra
Leone, Ascension, and St. Helena ; also 10,0001. in
small specie to the latter island.

Wind N.N.W., moderate breezes, and hazy wea-
ther-5 P.M.

PLYMOUTH, DEC. 29.—The schooner Undine, Cap-
tain Stribling, of Limerick, bound therefrom to
London, came in yesterday, having on board Captain
Conolley, formerly master of the brig Mary Anne, of
Greenock, and three Irish pilots belonging to Lough
Swilly, viz., Stephen Ferry, John Doughley, and
John Ward. These four persons were on board the
brig Mary Anne, Captain Leitch, lying in the outer
harbour of Lough Swilly, when, on the 14th instant,
a violent storm arose from south-west, which caused
her to part both anchors and cables, and drove the
ship to sea. The pilot's boat, with a quantity of fish
in her, was swamped, and went down alongside the
brig. No doubt the relatives consider the pilots
drowned. On the 19th, the Mary Anne fell in with
the Undine, and placed the four on board the schooner.
The Mary Anne pursued her voyage to Trinidad, in
the West Indies. At that time the Undine was near
the south coast of Ireland, but she has experienced
very heavy weather, lost sails, &c., and has been com-
pelled to put in here.