The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-22 00:00:00

SEPTEMPER 22, 1846.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
MALTA, SEPT. 1 l.—On Monday a court-martial was
held on board her M,Ajosty's ship Tyne, for the trial of
William Johnson, David Douglas, and Charles Wright,
engineers of her lviajesty's steamer Hecla, the first for
contempt and disobedience of orders to his captain,
Duffil, in refusing to send a forge on deck for the use of
the ship without a written order from the captain, and
on being placed in arrest turning sneeringly round and
saying, 'll thank you, sir, very much;" the last two for
refusing to take charge of the engine-room and engines
when Johnson was put under arrest.
The charges were fully proved, and Johnson was sen-
tenced to be mulct of his pay and allowances due to the
day of sentence, to be dismissed the Ilecla, and reduced
to the rank of second engineer for 12 months, with a re-
commendation to the Admiralty to reinstate him, should
his conduct be good during that time.
Douglas was acquitted, owing to an informality in his
description.
Wright was sentenced to be mulct of pay due, and to
remain a second engineer, without being able to advance,
for 12 months.
The Hecla went to Tripoli to day with Mr. Crowe,
the new consul.
The Fantome went out yesterday with provisions for
the Inconstant at Beyrout.
The Indian mails are daily expected.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SQUADRON.
In Malta Harbour.—The Ceylon, 12, receiving ship,
bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Sir L. Curtis, Bart.,
second in command and Superintendent of Malta Dock-
yard; the Tyne, 28, Captain W. N. Glascock ; the
Amazon, 49. Captain J. J. Stopford; the Harlequin,
Commander Curry; the Avenger, Captain T. Williams;
the Locust steamer, Lieutenant-Commander Power;
and the Wee Pet steam-tug.
On Surveying Duty.—The Bonetta, Commander T.
S. Brock; and the Research cutter, Lieutenant Spratt.
At Sea.—The Hibernia, 120, Captain Peter Richards,
C. 8., bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Sir W. Parker,
Bart., G.C.8., the Commander-in-Chief.
At Gibraltar.— The Virago war steamer, Commander
John Lunn; and the Phcenix steam-vessel, Commander
Dennis.
At Corfu.—The Meteor, Lieutenant-Commander
Butler.
At the Piraeus of Athens.—The Jackal] steamer, Lieu-
tenant-Commander W. M. J. G. Pasco.
At Beyrout.—The Inconstant, 36, Captain C. IL Fre-
, mantle.
At Smyrna.—The Syren, 16, Commander H. E.
Edgell.
At Constantinople.—The Bloodhound steamer, Lieu-
tenant R. Phillips.
En route to Tripoli from Malta, the Hecla war steamer,
Commander C. Starmer.
En route to Beyrout from Malta, the Fantome, 16,
Commander Le Hardy. •
MAIL STEAM-PACKETS.
At Malta—The Spitfire, Lieutenant J. A. M'Donald,
and the Trident, Lieutenant C. E. Rigge.
En route from Malta to Marseilles, the Flamer, Lieu-
tenant La vie.
En route from the lonian Islands and Greece to Malta,
the Volcano, Lieutenant Crang.
En route to Trieste from Malta, the Ardent, Lieute-
nant G. Spong.
PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL STEAM NAVIGATION COM-
PANY'S FLOTILLA.
. . ... _

At Southampton—The Pottinger, Tagus, Ariel, and
Duke of Cornwall.
En route for Southampton and Gibraltar from Malta,
the Montrose.
En route for Constantinople and Ports of the Black
Sea from Malta, the Achilles.
En route from Alexandria to Malta, the Oriental.
At Malta, the Iberia.
FOREIGN SHIPS OF WAR AND PACKETS IN PORT.
French steamers, the Mentor and Hellespont.
PORTSMOUTH, SUNDAY.—A circular has been issued
from the office of Rear-Admiral J. W. D. Dundas, M.P.,
C. 8., one of the Lords of the Admiralty, calling upon
the lieutenants upon the active list to state if they are
prepared to serve at sea, or would prefer the Coast
Guard appointments. This would appear like prepara-
tions for organising an available force for an emergency.
Much dissatisfaction is expressed at the manner in
which the new China medal has been executed. The
medal is of silver, but the receptacle for the riband, a
conspicuous feature in the, honour, is of albata or Ger-
man metal. Thus, whilst the medallion looks bright
and respectable, the clasp presents a dingy, brassy ap-
pearance. We yesterday saw twenty medals lying upon
the counter of a silversmith in this borough, which had
been sent by various officers to have silver substituted for
the spurious metal, which entails an expense upon their
purses of about 16s. each. Such is the manner in which
bravery is rewarded.
The Echo steam-tug took down yesterday to Cowes a
capstan and hawsers for the Ajax steam guard•ship, in-
tended to be floated out of dock at Cowes on Tuesday.
The Moozuffer, Captain Ethersey, I. N.. a very fine
handsome steam-frigate, recently launched, belonging to
the fleet of the Hon. the East India Company, arrived
on Friday at Spithead, under sail alone, in most beauti-
ful style. It would seem that while the royal dockyards
turn out steam-vessels of the most inefficient descrip-
doe, the merchant builders achieve the most enviable
excellence in that all-important branch of naval archi-
tecture. The Moozuffer is a beautiful sample, built by
Fletcher and Co., of Limehouse' with beam engines by
Seawark and Capel. She is 250 feet long; 37 feet beam
outside the wales; 1,444 k tons burden; has a comple-
ment of 180 ; mounts two 68 and four 32 pounders,
and is 500 horse power. Her funnel and paddle- wheels
are unshipped, as she proceeds to Bombay under sail
alone, brig-rigged.
The Helena, 16, Commander Sir Cornwallis Ricketts,
was in the Mozambique Channel on her passage thence
to the Cape on the 25th of June. Fever and dysentery
were raging on board, and had been fearfully prevalent.
Elevert of the crew had died, and at the above date forty-
three were on the sick list; the infection, however, was
subsiding. Sir Cornwallis had himself been attacked, and
the ship had for a fortnight been worked and commanded
by the first lieutenant, Mr. Phillips. At one time, we are
informed, only fifty -seven of the crew were fit for duty,
the commander, two lieutenants, and master at the
same time being sick. Only four of the officers had
escaped.
The Cygnet, 6, Commander Layton, was at Loando
on the 15th of June, at which time Commander Mon-
tresor had not arrived to supersede Commander Layton.
Four of the slaver prizes, out of 17 taken by the Cygnet,
had turned out blanks in adjudication.
The Abo, Russian store-ship, saluted the Commander-
in-Chief this morning soon atter eight o'clock, with 17
guns, which was returned immediately by the Victory,
with Sir Charles Ogle's flag temporarily suspended at
the main. She also exchanged salutes with the garrison
this afternoon.
The Adventure, naval transport, arrived this morning,
with stores, from the eastward.
A temporary cessation of the traffic between this place
and Gosport was occasioned yesterday by one of the
chains of the floating bridge breaking between four and
five o'clock in the afternoon, when the bridge was in the
centre of the passage ; the passengers, &c., were obliged
to be removed in boats at the expense of the bridge pro•
prietors. It was very fortunate no large vessels required
to pass in or out during the time the obstruction lasted,
which was removed at ten this morning.
The Cambrian, 36, was undocked (having had a
thorough repair) this morning.
The master of the Victory, Mr. Flynn, and his party
of men, who took the Rifleman steam-gun vessel to
Woolwich for her engines, returned by train from Lon-
don this evening.
The Comet, steam-vessel, Lieutenant-Commander
Johnston, arrived at Cork from Waterford on the even-
ing of the 17th inst. The squadron of evolution were
not expected there. The Madagascar, store-ship,
Master-Commander.Burney, and the Dee, steam-trans-
port, Master-Commander Driver, were in harbour at
Cove when the Comet arrived. The Stromboli, steam-
sloop, Commander Fisher, left Cork for the Shannon
with grain on the 16th. The I)ee was about to ship a
similar cargo. The Comet landed at the Custom-house
40 boxes of specie, each box containing, in crowns, half-
crowns, shillings, and sixpcnces, 500/. sterling. Between
five and six o'clock on Friday morning she left for
Tralee, whence she would- proceed to Limerick, Galway,
Sligo, and Westport, disembarking at each port money,
&c., for the relief of the prevailing distress.
WOOLWICH.—In the latter part of the Parliamentary
session of 1845 a Bill was brought in and passed into a
law, empowering the Admiralty and Board of Ordnance
to take, without any previous sessional notice, as was
formerly the case, any quantity of ground that might be
required for the service of the army and navy, or for
naval and military works contemplated to be constructed
in the United Kingdom. This Bill was framed to meet
the difficulties which had occurred in the attempt to ob-
tain a better practice-ground in the marshes at Wool-
wich; and, although that object has not yet been ac-
complished, in consequence of other localities having
been suggested, the powers of the Bill have been made
available in introducing very important improvements
and additions to Woolwich dockyard. The whole of the
buildings on the north side of George-street, Woolwich,
leading on the Greenwich road from the residence of the
captain-superintendent of the dockyard to the large
chimney of the foundry has been valued by a jury, and
the amounts decided on paid to the proprietors, and in
the course of the present week the dwelling-houses will
be sold for the value of the old-bricks, the whole cleared
off immediately, and the walls of the dockyard extended
so as to enclose the newly-acquired property. From
what has transpired since the visit of Field-Marshal the
Duke of Wellington,Commander-in-Chief,andGeneralthe
Marquis of Anglesey, Master-General of the Ordnance
to the fortifications at Tilbury Fort, Sheerness, and
Chatham, it is contemplated that Woolwich will be made
the greatest, as it is certainly will be the securest, naval
depot in this kingdom or in the known world. In order
to extend the resources and accommodation of the Wool-
wich dockyard, a jury has been summoned to decide
upon the value of the marshy ground ou the west side of
Charlton pier, extending as far as the manor-way on the
Greenwich side of the dockyard, for the purposeof form-
ing a basin capable of containing ships and steam-vessels
of the first class, for which the place is admirably
adapted, the depth along shore on the Kent side being
fifteen feet, at low water, close to the land. This spot
would be the most eligible of any in the country, from
the facilities it possesses of receiving ships in ordinary,
instead of allowing so many of them to remain exposed,
as is the case when moored in the Medway. It will
be recollected that several of the French steamers of
war visited Sheerness last year without any pre-
vious announcement of their visit, and after a short
stay returned to Treport, where the King of the
French decorated with his own hand several of
the non-commissioned officers on board the steamers
with the cross of the Legion of Honour, in consequence,
it was surmised at the time, of the manner in which the
vessel bad arrived at Sheerness, and the satisfactory re-
ports of the voyage. At the present moment a fleet of
French war steamers, in the event of hostilities taking
Place, could leave the coast of France under secret

orders, and proceed to the Medway, and cut out all the
ships in ordinary without much risk, the flag-ship at
Sheerness being of no use except to give a passing broad-
side to the steamers employed upon that service, as at
the present period there is not a war steamer of sufficient
power to assist at that station. Under these circum-
stances Woolwich possesses immense advantages, owing
to the vicinity of the dockyard to the garrison, and the
great resources of every description at the head-quarters
of the Royal Artillery. It was no doubt desirable to
select the Medway as an eligible situation for ships in
ordinary, before the introduction of steam navigation;
but since the introduction of that power, and the facili-
ties with which vessels of the first rate can be towed to
the Downs from Woolwich, the advantages and security
of the latter naval depot are unquestionable, and have
attracted a great share of attention on the part of the
authorities, who appear now to be actively engaged in
the adoption of measures which cannot fail to be of the
utmost importance to the country.

SPORTING IN THE HIGHLANDS.
"Did you ever see finer weather?" is the constant
remark of sportsmen; and certainly few can remember
so many weeks pass over with scarce a shower to wet
a jacket or gun. Be the days fair or wet, however,
grouse do get wild; and by the middle of September
grouse shooting is a different kind of sport from that
during the first week, when dogs go straight to the
coveys, rousing the birds in a compact cluster. Later
in the month, they have to maintain a quick pace to
keep up with the running broods, which often give dogs
and men a march before a shot is fired. This is a
" great fact;" but still the sportsman who ranges over
the flat, round the hill side, and up and down all the
declivities of his moor, can, in many places, carry home
his twenty or thirty brace of full-grown birds; and we
know of the larger number being more than doubled in
one day of late. Deer-stalking has not, on the whole,
given an average number. The noble animals have been
greatly molested by swarms of flies, which abound in their
retreats in the hot weather, causing the stags to leave
the corries and take to mountain ridges, where the balls
whistle round them in vain ; for only the stalker's skill
and patience can bring his rifle within shooting distance.
In the forest of Achnacarry, we hear that Mr. Tomline
and friends have killed I 1 stags. At Glengary, Lord
Hatherton, Mr. Littleton, and Mr. Ellice, shot '2 stags
and five roe deer in one day. On Monar Hills, H. W.
White, Esq., shot a couple of stags, one of them with
large wide-spread horns. Oa the 10th instant, Lord
Claude Hamilton shot a stag in the forest of Lochlui-
chart ; and on the 11th, Sir James J. R. Mackenzie,
Baronet, killed a stag with ten antlers, in fine condition.
At Garve, a red deer and a roe were shot by A. W.
Mackenzie, Esq., yr. of Ord ; also a hind and roebuck by
others of the same party. At Rhidarroch, Mr. Hay
Mackenzie of Cromertie shot a very fine stag, which
weighed, when cleaned, 22 st. 9 lbs., and possessed a
very handsome royal head of antlers. On the sth inst.,
Sir St. George Gore, Bart., captured near Inverbroom
the largest and finest stag ever seen on the grounds. At
Strathvaich, Sir St. George shot in one day lately 90
brace of grouse, a snipe, and 2 hares; and on the 7th,
76} brace of grouse and 5 hares. A roebuck, with horns
curiously differing from the natural form, was shot
lately by Mr. Petre, Scatwell. The horns are full-siz, d
and completely palmated—the front and back antlers,
including the centre one, being a solid mass of bone. A
very beautiful specimen of fallow deer was killed the
other day by Robert Reid, Esq., Castle Leod. The
head had eighteen branches, and was a rare trophy of
a variety of deer nearly extinct in this part of the
country.—lnverness Courier.