The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-05 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

There cannot be a Letter refutation to calumny than
to meet it with facts, " which are stubborn things."
For a long time past it has been a practice indulged in
(there is no accounting for taste) to make it appear that
our Navy was neglected, our Dock-yards barren of sup-
plies, seamen scarce, and disinclined to enter the Navy ;
and all this was circulated in order to establish that our
rulers, and more particularly the Board of Admiralty,
were unmindful of the true interests of the nation and
its Navy. It is truly unfortunate for the naval croakers'
arguments, that the recent opportunities afforded to the
British fleet in the Mediterranean, and the recent com-
missioning, equipping, and manning several ships of the
line and others, should so pointedly belie so many oft-
repeated assertions that the British Navy was morally
defunct ; the operations of the fleet on the coast of Syria
have proved that naval officers are competent to their
duty ; that the ships and their crews were never in a
state fitter to acquit themselves to the satisfaction of
their country ; and the speedy manning within the last
few months of several line-of-battle-ships, and some of
smaller closes, by a voluntary system, no bounty given,
establish that the Navy has not fallen into that state of
odium and disgust which some unpatriotic scribblers and
pamphleteers have for near three years been endea-
vouring to establish. The steady and undeviating as-
siduity of the various branches of the naval adminis-
tration, has produced such a systematic organization,
which works so quietly, regularly, and unremittingly,
without any fuss or bombast, that it is not to be won-
dered the uninformed should be misled, and induced to
suppose we were in stain quo. The proof that your
dockyards are not deficient in the materiel, is to be
found in the expedition with which every new-commis-
sioned ship was supplied with all her equipment.
The devotedness of the Naval Administration to the
best interests of the country, may be observed by their
very recently ordering to be brought forward for imme-
diate commission, a 50 gun frigate, the Vindictive, at
Portsmouth, with a bow of an entirely new construc-
tion, which affords the facility of not only firing twice as
many ens forward as the old plan, but likewise yields
the advantage of being able to fire some of the guns
from one bow across to a ship on the other bow, thus
obviously affording a decided advantage to the chasing
ship, previously unknown. The commissioning this ship,
and testing her with one of her class of the present con-
I struction, will (if successful) enable ships of war of all
I classes to bring twice the battery to bear right a-head
that they formerly icoirsessAl. - Among naval men this
is highly prized ; and we hear from all quarters that
this important naval architectural improvement reflects
great credit upon its projector, Mr. Blake, the master
shipwright of Portsmouth Dockyard. Upon the naval de-
partment it reflects honour, from the wise and judicious
selection made in fostering men of talent, and their
readiness to afford trial to everything that can tend to
strengthen Britain's best bulwarks, her " wooden walls."
Naval and Military Gazette.

On Thursday last, a joint vestry was held of the
United Parishes of St. Antholin, Watling-street, and St.
John the Baptist, to elect a Sunday afternoon Lecturer in
the place of Dr. Wilson resigned, when the Rev. Chas.
Culeby Roberts, B. A., one of the Masters of St. Paul's
School, was chosen. The numbers at the close of the
poll being
For the Rev. Charles Coleby Roberts 50
For the Rev. H. Valiance
Majority for the Rev. Mr. Roberts
THE "FROPlCS.—lnseets are the curse of tro-
pical climates. The bete rouge lays the foundation of a
tremendous ulcer. In a moment you are covered with
ticks. Chigoes bury themselves in your flesh and hatch a
large colony of young chigoes in a few burs. They will
not live together but every chigoe sets up a separate ulcer,
and has his own private portion of pus. Flies get entry
into your mouth, into your eyes, into your nose; you cat
flies, drink flies, and breathe flies. Lizards, cockroaches,
and snakes, got into the bed; ants eat up the books;
scorpions sting you on the foot. Everything bites, stings,
or bruises; every second of your existence you are
wounded by some piece of *nines' life that nobody has
ever seen before, except Swammerdam and Meriam. An
insect with eleven legs is swimming in your tea-cup, a non-
descript with nine wings is struggling in the small beer, or
a caterpillar with several dozen eyes in his belly is hastening
over the bread and butter I
GOOD FORTUNE.—A few days since a man
named John Billings, who has for many years been an in-
mate in St. Saviour's Workhouse, Southwark, came into
possession of 30,0001. by the death of an aunt in Berkshire.
EMIGRATION TO THE WEST INDlES.—Des-
spite of the efforts made by the enemies to slavery—the
scathing, burning denunciations and imprecations of as
O'Connell and a Steele ;—despite of the eloquent ap-
peals of Counsellor Moore, the Anti- Slavery Delegate,
and the untiring, sincere, and indefatigable efforts of the
Society of Friends:—despite of the advice and exhorta-
tions of different Catholic clergymen from their altars, to
a deluded people,—one hundred and twenty-five men,
women, and children go out in the Robert Kerr this day.
Dark, and dismal, and desolate did the Robert Kerr ap-
pear, with a few small boats plying round her, containing
some benevolent individuals, who, to the utmost of their
power, exerted themselves to prevent the infatuated beings
from plungiag into slavery and death.—Limeriek Reporter.
REPRESENTATION OF MONMOUTHSHIRE.—
There is every reason to believe that there will be no
contest for this county at the next election. Mr. Hanbury
Trae,y, the nephew of the Lord Lieutenant, has accepted
the invitation of the electors to come forward as a candi-
date in the Liberal interest, and Mr.
Opposition him wou
5.,e completely futile. The requisition to Mr. Tracy was
signed by 114 A of the leading gentry of the county, among
whom are Sir Digby Mack worth, Bart., Colonel Lewis, of
St. Pierre, and other moderate Conservatives. Mr. Tracy
has replied to the requisition, and expresses his readiness
to accede to the wishes of the requisitionists whenever the
present Member, Mr. Williams, 5h.,11 relinquish his scat,
by standing fcrward on their interest as a candidate for the
representation of the county of Nlsnrnouth.—Morning

drontcle.
VIENNA, DEC. 20.—1 hear that the Emperor
has been pleased to grant to the Protestant students of
Hungary and Transylvania, permission again to frequent
the
yU nyievaerrss.
NEWSPAPER PROPERTY.--On Tuesday last,
at the Auctionit y of Gottingen, which has been withheld for
mart, London, Mr. Surridge offered for
ich
sale the copyrights and entire interest of the following
Journals,
which have for some time been in the hands of
h
the Essex and Suftolh Times,
and the Ipswich Express. The novelty of the sale did
not attract a large company, there not being twenty per-
sons in the room. Mr. Surridge, having described the
several properties, wh wero offered in three lots, ob-
served that he hoped, as there was no reserve, ho should
meet with a fair and liberal competition. HQ next read a
letter from the reverend pr,
e oprietor, in which he stated that
Kent Eyre, of Dedham, viz. :—The Essex,
Heel llercury,
as the property was advertised to be sold without any reser-
vation he was dem:lied to abide by it. The auctioneer
then called on those present to make a bidding for lot 1,
but he did not succeed in his appeal ;
he next offered lots
2 and 3 Mr. Surridge then said,
as there did not appear to be a bidder in the room, he
should
be compelled Co better success.
to close the sale, at the same time
he could not avoid expressing his disappointment at the
result. He thanked the compaoy..
for their attendance, and
tho business concluded.—Chelmsford Chronicle.
EXTItAoRDINARY FLOCK OF WILD GEESE.
—A gentleman residing at Woodside, near Liverpool, in-
forms us, that, on Tuesday morning, whilst walking in
Hamilton.square, his attention was attracted by :a very loud
noise, which he at first took for a mob qaarrelling ; but
seeing no such disturbance, he looked into th.. air, and
there saw a most extraordinary flock of wild geese, consist.
ing of at loot 2,000, flying in tho direction of Bidaton.