The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-18 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

SHEERNESS, SEPT. 15.—The Duke of Wellington,
Sccompanied by the Marquis of Anglesey, Lord Cla-
rence Edward Paget, Captain Whitmore. and several
officers of the Royal Engineers, arrived here about 12
o'clock to-day in the Black Eagle steam-vessel from
Woolwich, on a visit of linspection of the fortifications.
His Grace altd party were received very privately,"there
being not above a dozen spectators besides the Com•
wander-in-Chief of the station, Vice-Admiral Sir
Edward King, K.C.U., Major Walpole of the Rifle
Brigade, Captain Gould of the Ocean, and one or two
ether naval and military officers, who were in waiting to
receive them. No guard of honour was in attendance,
nor was there any salute from the flag-ship: all went off
sts quietly as though the visit had been from the hum-
blest individual in the War-office. Having disappointed
the denizens yesterday by their non-arrival, few were
Jooking out for them to-day. His Grace and party landed
at the Ordnance stairs about a quarter past 12 o'clock,
end immediately proceeded to view the neighbouring
fortifiintions, ascending the steps near Admiralty-house,
and going over all the works surrounding the garrison,
where entering the Admiral's carriage and one or two
post-chaises which had been in attendance since
yesterday, they drove along the dockyard wall,
taking a cursory view of the new battery and musketry
walls now in course of erection opposite. In crossing
the drawbridge to Mile-town his Grace was enabled to
view the land defences in that situation, and now in
course of enlargement and repair. Driving rapidly
through Mile-town, they soon reached the Telegraph-
bill, about two or three miles distance, which they in-
spected minutely, with a view, it is said, of recommend-
ing a fort to be erected thereon, it being considered the
strongest position in the island. In returning from the
bill they had an excellent view of the dockyard, the
harbour, and the several defences, and we understand
that his Grace, as well as the Marquis, expressed their
entire approbation of the plan of them. On the return
to the garrison about two o'clock they were again re-
ceived by the Vice-Admiral, Sir Edward King, who in-
vited them to partake of luncheon at Admiralty-house,
but this was declined, and his Grace and party imme-
diately proceeded to the Ordnance wharf, where, enter-
ing the barge of the Commander-in-Chief, they were,
with him, conveyed on board the Black Eagle, which
soon afterwards sailed for Chatham. His Grace is to
inspect the fortifications there this afternoon, and after-
wards to proceed to Walmer Castle, viaMaidstone.
Captain Arthur, C. 8., the superintendent of the dock-
yard, and Colonel Thomson, Royal Engineers, were
prevented waiting on his Grace from indisposition.
APPOINTMENTS.

William Wood, Lieutenant, America ; Harvey,
'Mate, ditto - Thomas Weston, Midshipman, Sidon ;
Frederick W. Nundi, Naval Cadet, Victory ; Richard
Batchelor, Clerk, Sidon ; Edward Deely, 2d Engineer,
Bulldog ; George Kaye, Ist Engineer, ditto.
PORTSMOUTH, &pr. 16.—The Fairy steam yacht has
been to Cowes this day to attend on her Majesty. The
Victoria and Albert yacht is preparing to return her
stores, &c., and to be laid up for the winter, as it is
understood her Majesty and the Royal Family will not
use her again this year. Her Majesty will leave Osborne
House for Windsor on Saturday or Monday.
When the Duke of Wellington visited this port a few
days since, in company with the Marquis of Anglesey,
the Master-General of the Ordnance, brief as was his
visit, his Grace did not fail to observe the extremely ex-
posed situation of the Government establishments on the
Gosport side of this harbour, which have fewer defences
than any other establishments along the coast.
It would be utterly useless to arm the entrance to the
harbour for the protection of the establishments on either
side of it, as such defences as now exist, and are daily
receiving increased strength, are, notwithstanding their
apparently impregnable character, wholly inadequate to
the protection of the most important establishments—
viz., the Royal Clarence Victualling Establishment,
and the dockyard opposite. These establishments,
than which there are none other tof so much import-
ance in the kingdom, or so essential to its efficient
defence, are at present greatly in want of defences ;
for, although on one side the harbour we have
the Platform-battery, Southsea Castle, and the
King's Bastion, all well mounted with heavy ordnance,
and on the other side Blockhouse and Moncton Forts,
also heavily mounted, and although other strong works
are progressing at the harbour's mouth, yet no defence
whatever exists at the most accessible point of the coast
between Fort Moncton aad Calshot Castle, Stoke's Bay,
where, supposing for argument's sake, an enemy suc-
ceeded in making a landing, they might collect unop-
posed, and march without fear of disturbance to the
Tear of the Clarence-yard, and commit irreparable
damao to: that national storehouse and the dockyard
opposite before any effectual forCe conllf cress the water
or assemble in the viciniey fdr their ''clefence. Thus, al-
though the front door of this - important arsenal is
strongly guarded, the back door is left open and without
a watchman. It is to provide against so glaring an
oversight in the erection of efficient works of defence for
this most important station that the works at the maga-
zines at Priddy's Hard are being strengthened, and new
fortifications thrown up, and that a battery for long guns
of the heaviest metal is immediately to be erected in a
suitable situation, to sweep the approach to Stoke's Bay
east and west. This we are assured has been ordered,
and we sincerely trust it is correct, as, whatever tends to
strengthen our insular position, removes the chance of
hostilities with others.
The Board of Admiralty are to leave Devonport this
day, and proceed to Pembroke Dockyard, to inspect the
new docks, building-slips, marine barracks, and the for-
tifications constructing on the recommendation of the
committee of officers, viz., the late Colonel Sir G. Hoste,
R. E., Colonel Mercer, and Captain Sir T. Hastings,
RN., who have been appointed by the Master-General
of the Ordnance to examine into the state of the de-
fences of and near the several dockyards, and who
especially called attention to the defenceles3 and ex-
posed condition of Pembroke-yard, where the greater
part of the ground is occupied in building-slips, and also
that the troops employed for the protection of the
arsenal have not any barracks, but are accommodated
in an old hulk, the Dragon ; and particularly that there
was an entire want of artillery fortification. Since
this report has been made, measures have been
taken t 9 erect batteries, and to place the walls of
the dockyard in a proper state of defence. The
Board of Admiralty expect to conclude their official du-
ties at the outports this week, and resume their places at
the Admiralty on Monday next. Their Lordships have
signified to several captains and commanders, who
have solicited appointments to ships and sloops, that not
Any vessels will be put in commission at present, as the
late Government left office with about two thousand
snore seamen employed than the number voted in the
estimates. Hence, until the Castor, Semarang, Tyne,
Wasp, and a few others, are paid off, nothing of any
importance will be brought forward. The Amphitrite,
Trincomalee, Cambrian, Java, and Alfred, at this port,
ire all nearly ready for officers and men.
Her Majesty's steamer Bulldog his been prevented
going to sea by the want of engineers, both those,be-
longing to her being sick ; and, also, in consequence of
her engines being, at noon this day, discovered to be out
of order. On getting her steam up, and preparing to
go out of harbour, it was found that a vacuum could not
be formed, and it is suspected that the screws of the
pipes have been meddled 'with. Workmen from the
metal-mills have been sent off to endeavour to rectify
the injury. Engineers from Woolwich wrre to have
been down this afternoon, but, should they arrive, the
vessel cannot go to sea this evening.
The verdict of the coroner's jury on. the _marine
artillery soldier, who destroyed himself 'on Sunday
morning wbile•on sentry, was "Temporary insanity.
The Aid-lighter, with stores, .sailed fur Dei-onport und
Pembroke yesterday.
The Falmouth lighter sailed to-day for Woolwich with
stores.
The Drake lighter sailed to-day for Chatham, with a
number of artisans from the copper foundry in this yard,
to be employed at that place, where a new foundry is
established, intended to supersede the one at this yard,
and to which, it is believed, the whole establishment is to
be removed from here. _ _

DETONPORT, SEPT. 15.—Yesterday the ceremony of
laying the foundation-stone of the Royal Naval and
Military Free School was performed by the First Lord of
the Admiralty, the Right Hon. the Earl of Auckland,
G.O B.

At ten o'clock in the morning a procession started
from the Town-hall, attended by the band of the Royal
Marines, and headed by seamen and marines, bearing
flags and banners. They were followed by the infant
school, girls' school, boys' school, subscribers, friends,
and committee ; officers of the navy and army, visitors,
commissioners of Devonport, superintendent of police,
mayor, magistrates, and Town Council of Devonport,
members of Town Council of Plymouth, architect, con-
tractors, the clergy and ministers of all denominations.
The Earl. of Auckland and the other Lords of the Admi-
ralty were immediately preceded by Captains and Com-
manders R.N. in commission, Colonels and Majors of
regiments, Commandants Royal Engineers and Royal
Artillery, Colonel Beatty, Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel
Pym, Captain Sir T. Fellowes, C. 8., Major-General the
Mon. 11. Murray, and Port-Admiral Sir John West.
On reaching the ground in King-street, the Rev. W.
B. Payne, the chaplain in ordinikry, offered prayer. The
stone was th, n lowered in its place, and adjusted by his
Lordship in the usual manner. After the children had.
sung the national anthem, the Earl of Auckland, ad•
dressing the Worshipful the Mayor of Devonport, said,
that however much he had been pleased on Saturday,
by the honour which then devolved on him of laying the
foundation-stone of the great national undertaking at
Morice-town, still that pleasure was surpassed by his
feelings on the present occasion, when the moral and
spiritual education of those brave defenders of their
country, her seamen and soldiers, was so deeply con-
cerned. Ile had always taken a sincere and lively in-
terest in the education of the people, especially in that
system which as entirely free from sectarianism ; and
he now most ffeartily congratulated the Mayor of De-t
vonport, and those gentlemen who had actively pro-
moted the 'present measure, on the successful result
which had attended their efforts ; and concluded by
saying that he should esteem it as a honour an,' a pri-
vilege to be allowed to enrol his name in the ist of sub-
scribers to the institution.

Mr. Blackmore, the Mayor of Devonport, having in
suitable terms, asknowledged his Lordship's address, the
band of the Royal Marines played the national anthem,
and the ceremony, which was attended by a vast con-
course of persons, concluded. •
In the afternoon the Lords of the Admiralty visited
the sail-lofts in her Majesty's dockyard, and witnessed
the result of some experiments on sail-cloth that had
been previously saturated with a preparation. The
canvass, which was quite rotten in consequence, parted
with a very small amount of force. Their Lordship's
then went on board her Majesty's ship Caledonia, 120,
Captain Milne, in Hamoaze, and minutely inspected
that fine vessel. In the evening they patronized a ball
at Elliott's Royal Hotel, given in aid of the funds of the
Female Orphan Asylum at Stoke. The front of the

hotel was brilliantly illuminated with a handsome star
and the letters "V. A." The ball was attended by a
fa,hionable company, and being crowded to excess, no
doubt contributed a handsome sum towards the newly-
erected institution.

THE REGISTRATION.
TOWER HAMLETS.
D. C. Meylan, Esq., the barrister appointed to revise
the lists of voters for this borough, opened his Court on
Wednesday, at half-past nine o'clock, in the Court-house,
Wellclose-square. The overseers having handed in the
list of their respective parishes, it appeared that the
total number of claims was 107. There were no objec-
tions. The claims were from the following parishes:—
Poplar, 1; Christ Church, Spitalfields, 3; Mile-end, Old
Town, 22; Ratcliffe, 3; Limehouse, 4; St. George's, 3;
Hackney, 19; Shoreditch, 20; Bethnal-green, 29; Shad-
well, 1. After a short conversation it was arranged that
the lists of the parishes from which there were neither
claims nor objections should be disposed of before ea-
tering upon the consideration of the claims; this having
been done, the first claim entered upon was that of Win.
Forscutt, of 31, Robin Hood-lane. The overseers ob-
jected on the ground that the claimant had not been a
sufficient time on the rate-book.
Mr. Forscutt, who defended his own claim, said that
this was owing to the overseers having refused to place
his name on the book, notwithstanding repeated notices
to that effect. He charged Mr. Nation, in particular,
with throwing every obstruction in the way of his ob-
taining the privilege of a vote, and now, when he had at
last compelled the insettion of his name they had in-
creased the rating of his house 150 per cent., and even
increased the estimated value of the house itself from
141. to 181. per.annum, determined, apparently, to make
him pay for it. It was such conduct as this on the part
of parochial officers which narrowed the franchise, and
made the Reform Act a nullity to large classes. In sup-
port of his claim, Mr. Forscutt handed to the Court
duplicates of the claim to be rated, which he had served
'upon the overseers on the 11 th December, 1845; sth
March, 1846; 25th June, 1846; and 22d August, 1846.
The rate-books were put in evidence at the request of
the claimant, and the Barrister decided that the claim
was a good one, inasmuch as the notices required by the
Act had been duly served. The first notice having been
served on the 11th December, 1845, previous to the pub-
lication and allowance of the Christmas rates, he did not
see any rate from the 20th July, 1845, which Mr. For-
scutt was not entitled to claim upon, and upon these
grounds it must be admitted.
Mr. Forscutt then requested that the Court would en-
force the penalties in the 51st and 46th clauses of the
Registration Act, and that the overseers should be thied
for wilfully neglecting to insert his name on the register,
and also for their frivolous and vexatious opposition in
the court to his claim.
The Barrister declined to exercise the power vested
in him by these clauses, inasmuch as there was a great
distinction between an innocent mistake as to the Jaw,
and a wilful omission. lie thought the first was the case
in this instance ; as to the penalties levied by the 46th
clause, they referred to individual objectors, and not to
the overseers, who had appeared merely to sustain their
own list.
Mr. Forscutt denied the overseers could object in their
official capacity, it must be as individual voters, and on
that ground he claimed the costs of his attendance, and
the infliction of the fine. Unless something was done to
restrain parochial officers from the Anse of the powers
vested in them, these abases would increase, and the
franchise be practically denied to those entitled to it
through the obstacks they created.
The Barrister could not concur in the views of the
claimant as to the fine, but hoped the discussion which
had taken placewould effect all that the claimant wished.
Claim allowed.
The next list was that of Christchurch, Spitalfields.
The claim of William Somervile was disallowed, on the
ground that he had made no claim between the Ist of
August, 1845, and the 10th of August, 1846. In the
interval four rates had been levied without his name being
put on the rate-book, and the Barrister held that not
having complied with the requisition of the Act, by
giving successive notices for each successive rate, the
claim must be disallowed. The overseers said, that
having ascertained the house claimed for, though one
which was compounded for (the landlord paying one
part of the rates and the tenant the other), was or the
required value, agreed to put the name on the rate-book
for the ensuing registration. The two remaining claims
on this list were disallowed, in consequence of the non-
appearance of the claimants ; their claims, however,
stood upon the same grounds as the preceding, and
would, in any case, have been rejected.
The claims of Ratcliffe and Limehouse were admitted
without oppoSition: the requirement of the law having
been complied with in each ease.
Mile end Old=Town.—Twenty- two claims.—The claim
of -- Boon, tenant of a " compound house," was Objected
to, on the ground -that he only paid rates on 81., the
landlord being rated for the other 81. The overseers
admitted, however, that they had inserted Boon's name
on the rate-bock, in compliance with a claim made by
him.

The Barrister said the insertion of a name was an
admission of the right to'vote; the only question was
whether the premises were of sufficient value. It
appeared that the tenement occupied by Boon was one
of three, the estimated value of which was 601; there
could therefore be no doubt of its sufficiency, and the
claim must be allowed.
Two claims from tenants of the other two houses
were then admitted for the same reason, and the
remaining nineteen were disallowed on the ground of
non-appearance.
St. George.--Three claims.—Two were disallowed on
the ground of insufficient notice; the other claim was
admitted, the name having been put on the rate-book,
and the rates paid.
For the parish of Hackney there were nineteen claims;
of these four were disallowed in consequence of non-
appearance; the other fifteen being merely corrections
of a list of upwards of 2,000 names, were permitted to
stand.
The claims of Shadwell and Whitechapel were ad-
mitted.
Mr. Forscutt called the attention of the Court to the
necessity for a fuller description of streets than the lists
afforded. For instance, there might be twelve William-
streets with voters of the same name resident in each,
but for want of a more particular description it might be
requisite to go to each of them before finding the voter.
lie thought the overseers should be ordered to amend
this defect.
The Barrister admitted that this was an inconvenience
everywhere experienced, but its correction rested with a
higher power than the overseers, and'he was not autho-
rised to make any order on the subject.
Of the twenty claims for St. Leonard, Shoreditch
seven were disallowed on account of non-appearance'
the remainder, which were corrections of the overseers:
list of 4,200 names, were admitted.
Oa the Bethnal-green list being called, Messrs'
Manley and Benson appeared on the part of the Cora
pound Householders' Registration Association of St.
Matthew's, to support the claim of fifteen of their mem-
bers whose names did not appear in the overseers' list.
Of these claims eleven were admitted, the majority of
them being part occupiers of houses, and paying a
weekly rent of ss. ; two claims were disallowed on the
ground that the rent and premises were not of sufficient
value to entitle to a vote ; and sixteen claims fell to the
ground on account of non-appearance, and the absence
of the names from the register.
The general result of the day's proceedings showed 50
claims out of 107 admitted.
The' Court then closed at six o'clock, having disposed
of the Various lists in one day. •