The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-24 00:00:00

Raster of the Fleet—Crossed anchors and a star.

Masters—Crossed anchors only.
Mates—One epaulette on right shoulder, with anchor only.
Second Masters—The same, with crossed anchors only.

CIVIL BRANCH.
•
The Director-General of Fleets and Hospitals—Crown and
star.
Inspectors of Fleets and Hospitals—The crown only.
Deputy-Inspectors of Fleets and Hospitals—The star only.
Secretaries to Commander -in-Chief—The Star only.
Secretaries to Junior Flag Officers, Surgeons, and pay-
-masters—A pair of epaulettes, plain.
Assistant Surgeons and Passed Clerks—One plain epaulette
on the right shoulder.
Shoulder straps similar to those of the epaulettes are to be
worn with the great coats, which are to be made strictly to
the present regulation; and also with jackets, and may be
worn with undress coats on board ship. A -richly embroi-
dered crown has also been assigned to the blue cloth cap, in
ad,lition to the lace band, by way of distinguishing naval
officers from persons employed in our commercial marine,
who, though deserving well at our hands, and we are glad to
bear testimony to the number of educated and gentlemanly
men amongst them, have, most unjustifiably, we think, re-
sorted to bands of the navy lace for their caps.
MANNING OUR SHirs.—The Admiralty, much to the
credit of the Board, have lately been using the most strenu-
ous exertions to secure the entry of good and efficient
seamen into the service, and the conveyance of them from
one place to another as speedily as possible. It appears,
however, that on account of malpractices on board the
flag-ships at some of the ports, the efforts of the Admiralty
have been neutralised, and much dissatisfaction has been
engendered amongst the commanders of the vessels fitting
for sea. Every flag-ship at home is short of men in con-
sequence of drafts to other ships. Of course the captains of
the flag-ships have not parted with their best, but have
taken the opportunity of getting rid of their inferior men,
in order that they might recruit superior seamen for their
own ships. It is all very fair for the flag-ships to enter
those men who volunteer for them ; but a complaint is
strongly urged that all sorts of characters have been sent
to the flagships from the various rendezvous, and without
discrimination have been turned over to the ships fitting
for foreign service, whilst good seamen, who have entered
for a particular ship, have been induced by promises or have
been compelled to remain in the flag-ships. Thus the ships
fitting have all the disadvantage of the refuse, the majority
of which are either ineligible to serve from physical causes,
or rob and desert after being a few days on board. We
have heard of a large number of men sent from the
flag-ship to other vessels fitting having been rejected by
the captains; surveys have been ordered on them, and
many condemned as unfit for service, and thus ill-feeling,
delay, and disappointment are the effects. We are aware
that some steps have been taken to alter this state of things,
and that the Admiralty, averse to promiscuous enrolment,
have endeavoured to improve the system. We trust the
commanders of ships will second their Lordships' desire to
have an efficient set of men, and firmly refuse such whole-
sale consignments as they have been deluged with for the
last six months. If a seaman volunteer for a particular
ship, let good faith be kept with him, and let him be sent to
that vessel, and not allow him to be deceived by false pro-
mises, and be made a discontented grumbler, instead of a
cheerful, an active, and efficient servant.
It is reported at the clubs that Rear-Admiral J. W.
Deans Dundas, C. 8., will have the command of the experi-
mental squadron of 1846, which will not assemble until late
next month, as the Albion will not be ready by the time at
first named. , _ _

Mr. S. Gibbs, senior third-class clerk in the storekeepers'
office, Devonport Dockyard, has been promoted to the second
class, vice Burt, superannuated. Mr. B. Stokes, extra third
class clerk, confirmed, and H. N. P. Walker, has been ap-
pointed extra third class clerk.
The Trafalgar, 120, Captain J. B. Nott, flag-ship at Sheer-
ness, is ordered to be at the Nora by the Ist of April.
The Superb, 80, Captain Corry, is hourly expected at
Devonport from Cork, to land the Royal Marines, relieved
there. She will embark supernumeraries for the eastern ports.
The Scout, 12, Commander Loring, has removed from the
Barnpool to Plymouth Sound, to be paid advance.
The Peterel, 6, packet-brig, Lieutenant Commander
Creser, arrived at Devonport on Thursday night, from Fal-
mouth, and was towed into harbour by the Confiance, steam-
tug, to be refitted.
EXPERIMENTAL STEAM SQUADMA.—We have enumerated
the Retribution, Terrible, steam-frigates, and the Scourge,
steam-bomb-sloop, as vessels to form an experimental steam
squadron, under the command of Captain Lushington, of the
Retribution ; to the above we may add the Phoenix, steam-
screw-sloop, Commander Dennis' sailed from Woolwich to
Spithead ; Devastation, steam-sloop, Commander Crouch ;
and Rattler, steam-screw-sloop, Commander Smith.
The Samson, steam-frigate, Captain Henderson, arrived at
Pernambuco, March 2, from Devonport, and left on the sth,
for the Pacific.

•
The Rattler, steam-sloop, Commander Smith, left Devon-
port, on Thursday evening, for Cork.
The Hermes, steam• sloop, Lieut.-Commander Carr, arrived
at Port Royal, Jamaica, on the 20th February, from the
Musquito Shore.
The Confiance, steam. tug, Second Master commanding,
Jagoe, towed into Devonport Harbour, on Friday morning,
the merchant barque Davenport, M'Kenzie, master and
owner, from Sierra Leone, off the port, water-logged and
foremast gone.
The Confiance is ordered from Devonport to Cork, to be
placed under the orders of Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Pigot,
the Commander-in-Chief there. She was to have sailed
yesterday.

CASE OF DEPRAVITY.--A CHILD UNDER ''TWELVE
YEARS OLD ATTEMPTING TO POISON • WHOLE FAMILY.
—lt is with no common feelings of horror and astonishment
that we have to record the following case, as it appeared be-
fore the magistrates at Huddersfield on Tuesday last, and
which, since the case of Eliza Fanning, we believe to be
unparalleled. Mr. George Beaumont, an extensive manufac-
turer at Honley, applied to the magistrates requesting them
to cancel the indentures of his female apprentice, named
Eliza Sykes, a parish apprentice, and who (he said) would
not be twelve years old until next month. Mr. Beaumont
stated that she had been apprenticed to him by the parish
nearly two years since, and he requested her indentures to
be cancelled, in consequence of her having attempted to
poison the whole family. He informed the bench that him-
self, and most of the family' were in the habit of taking
oatmeal porridge for breakfast. Some short time since
they purchased a quantity of arsenic for the purpose of
destroying mice, this was mixed with some meal, and
given to the girl to put under a corn chest, in one of
the attics, to destroy the vermin. Upon one occasion,
the girl inquired of her mistress if it would poison
anything else besides mice. She was informed that it would
poison 20 men, and was ordered to be very careful of it. No-
thing more was thought of it until Saturday last, when, after
part of the family partaking of porridge for their breakfast,
two of the children, and one of the heads of the family, toge-
thertte
rwith
uh the girlso t herself,hat it
was yillh;er to
bed. During the day she coafessed to having put the the
poi-
sonedla
meal into the meal-box from which the porridge was
made. Information was sent to the overseer (Mr. Henry
Bettye), who endeavoured to elicit from her the reason for
the act, but could gain nothing, but that her mistress had
werfeoutnadkennecaeslasa rmryintgel
put
whipped her without any cause ; the fact being, that she had
cut the tail of a favourite bird, and her mistress had chastised
her for it. She had done this in a spirit of revenge. On be-
ing interrogated by the magistrates, she said, " I should not
have done so ; I was aware that I was liable to be sent to
prison for it, but I did not intend to kill them ; they had
grieved me by charging me with something I did not do."
As Mr. Beaumont merely wished the indentures to be can-
celled, his wish was complied with, the magistrates express-
ing their surprise and horror at so much depravity in so
young a child.—Halifax Guardian.
RELIGION OF THE SEIRUS.—The Seikh religion does
not boast of a very high antiquity. Previous to the close of
the fifteenth century, the whole of the people inhabiting the
PunjaulPwere either the followers of Hindooism, devoutly
beli .ving in the mythology which, to the present moment,
is held in reverence by the millions spread over British India,
or disciples of Mahomed from conviction, or the proselyting
influence of Persian and Affghan conquerers. But in the
early part of the sixteenth century arose a religious teacher,
Nanach Shah, the son of a salt-merchant, who, becoming a
faquir, practised great austerity, and parted with all his
property to the poor. The result was a very extensive con-
version of his countrymen from the Braluninical and Maho-
medan religions to a belief in pure Deism. The new disciples of
Nanach called themselves Seikhs—a term derived from the
Sanscrit, and applicable to the followers of any particular
teacher. It has remained with the people to this moment.
THE KORAN.—This work was not written in pur-
suance of the rules of the rhetoricians. A confusion of ideas,
produced by too elevated an enthusiasm, and an obscurity
and contradiction, which were the consequences of the tur-
bulent life and diversified designs of the author, destroyed
the unity and even the interest of the volume. The chapters,
moreover, were preposterously distributed, not according to
their date or connexion with one another, but according to
their length, commencing with the longest and finishing with
the shortest; and thus a work, in which the ideas might
well have been less gigantic and extravagant, became often
more unintelligible by its singular arrangement. Notwith-
standing all this, there is scarcely a volume in the Arabic
language which contains passages breathing a more sublime
poetry or moreenchanting eloquence.—Sisynondi.
QUEEN POMARE.—Some few years since her Ma-
jesty Queen Victoria presented a very handsome carriage to
the unfortunate Queen Pomare. The Polynesian, a weekly
journal, published at Honolulu, the capital of the Sandwich
Ie scilua
inpdas ,g e
:—" Rhodes
opdr
ee impress s
ai ennd fur
Co.the
o f
fBaeterhi
fouofsr,
asNovemberanlde thewelle
carriage
a sruriit ,taegaceofnoo-rf
Queen Pomare, of Tahiti, b
tains the following announoement in reference to the royal
uimoltfpihnarEnnesgslaancdc.omlptanisyiangweitl.l:
says, in relation to the above,
and Co. offer for sale the ,ca,r,ohlfnatesintwerdiu:
otbceraed
rosrafeiraettgliihCelte.eh,
Polynesiana
Tlti
wßhoht
osadenet dss
car-
riage of this truly unfortunate, though meritorious woman.
It was a present from her sister, Queen Victoria, and is now
offered for sale in order to supply the royal dame with the
means- of existence. She is said to be in very straitened
circumstances, being entirely without revenues or other
means than the charity of her friends afford. It is to be
hoped that some generous friend will come forward and pay
a fair price for this relic of a distressed yet heroic Queen,
whose fame and sufferings have made her for ever known to
the American and European public."