The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-01 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, FRIDAT.—The royal yacht Victoria
and Albert was paid off this day by her Captain, the
Right Hon. Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, G.C.H.,
extra naval A.D.C. to her Majesty. The yacht was
immediately afterwards re-commissioned by his Lord-
ship, who, together with Commander Crispin, are ap •
pointed to the yacht for a permanency, or during her
Majesty's pleasure; thus the changes in the command
of the royal yacht are at an end, perhaps a very ne-
cessary Admiralty measure. The subordinate officers
were also re-appointed for terms respectively of three
years, except the surgeon, Mr. Greenish, who is super-
seded by Mr. T. W. Macdonald, surgeon of the
Hibernia, flag-ship of Vice-Admiral Sir W. Parker,
in the Mediterranean. Lieutenant E. W. Vansittart,
1842, also of the Hibernia, is appointed to the royal
yacht.
The Acheron steam-sloop, Captain I. L. Stokes,
arrived from the eastward this morning, to receive
advance and take in mails for New South Wales and
New Zealand.

The Cygnet brigantine, Commander Kenyon, was
paid advance this morning. She sails to-morrow.
The Terrible steam- frigate, Captain Ramsay, is
waiting for her gun carriages and some appliances to
her furnaces, which are expected from Woolwich this
evening ; if they arrive, she will make a trial trip on
Monday, and proceed about Wednesday to Lisbon.
The Penelope steam-frigate, Captain Giffard, bear-
the broad pendant of Commodore Sir Charles
Hotham, K.C.8., Commander-in-Chief on the west
coast of Africa, was to leave St. Helena on or about
the 9th ult., after watering, for Ascension, having
made a tour of five months to the various stations
under his command. On her passage from Kabenda
to St. Helena, under steam, about 12 o'clock (noon)
on Sunday, the 13th of October, when about to take
her floats off and make sail, the man at the mast-head
reported " a sail." At 12h. 30m. the Penelope
steamed head to wind, the chase being on a wind, the
steamer altered course, and made all plain sail until
2 F.M., when the strange sail could be seen from the
deck. She was a brig, close hauled, with royals set ;
she looked so well every one thought she must be a
man-of- war. At 3 P.M. she was seen plainly ; a very
large boom mainsail, large gib, and enormous flying
gib set. She appeared trying to get away. This
looked very suspicious when it was discovered she
could not be a man-of-war, as she showed no colours.
Some thought she might be an American, as they
often serve men-of-war in that way. At 4 P.M. it
was quite certain she was a slaver. She tried to
cross the bows of the Penelope several times ; but
they would not let her, keeping her on
the weather bow. When within range the steamer
fired a shot a-head of her; but the slaver would not
heave to. After the lapse of some little time the
Penelope fired another shot over her; she then short-
ened sail, and, without resistance, she became the prize
of the steamer at a quarter to five. She proved a
magnificent brig, like a Symondite, Portuguese mea-
surement, 320 tons. The captain said he had made
three successful trips in this vessel; the first time he
carried 500 slaves, the second time 1,000, and the
third trip 500; the fourth was his present venture,
which, he said, would have been his last, had he not
been taken. On the third trip he said he had been
chased by the Helena as he was leaving Bahia for the
coast ; he did not think at first she was a man-of-war,
and let her get very close to him (within two miles)
before he saw his mistake ; he then set all sail and
threw everything overboard, even provisions, cut his
bulwarks down, and got away. This slave captain
said he had been eighteen years engagekin this hor-
rible traffic, and had made twenty-five trips and been
taken three times. He said if the captain of a slaver
takes a cargo of 1,000 slaves to the Brazils he gets
6,000 dollars as his share of the cargo only, but if
taken, he of course got nothing; and that•the present
market price of a slave at Brazil is 300 dollars. The
Penelope, says our letter, does now very well, having
been considerably improved in every way under her
present commanders. She went during the above
chase nine knots an hour with two-boilers only, and
during the last hour of the race made ten knots with
three boilers.

The Sharpshooter, iron steam-vessel, sister to the
Rifleman, has been masted. It is reported that she
is to be rigged and sent to Woolwich to receive en-
gines more suitable than those she now has in. Both
the Sharpshooter and the Rifleman are new vessels
and have never been commissioned.

In Harbour—The Victory, 104, flag-ship, the
Victoria and Albert, Excellent, Terrible, Fairy,
Echo, Avon, and Undine. _ _ _

In Dock—The Ajax steam guard-ship, Leander,
Sappho, Orestes, and Cuckoo.
In the Basin—The Prince Regent, 90, Captain W.
F. Martin ' • the Blenheim, ordinary guard-ship, Capt.
Yates; the Retribution; Firefly, Lieutenant Pon-
sonhy ; Kite, Master Commander Battiston ; Swallow,
and Rocket.

At Spithead—The Cygnet, Lieutenant Commander
Kenyon ; the Acheron, steam•sloop, Captain Stokes,
and another steamer just arrived, but whose number
cannot be made out owing to a dense fog ; she is be-
lieved to be the Colombia, from Plymouth.

It having been asserted by mire than one paper
that the Philomel, 8, Commander W. C. Wood, has
taken no prize since her arrival Oil the African coast,
we are enabled to state that, so far from this being
the case, on the 18th of October last the Philomel
took a fine Spanish schooner off the river Zebu • and
on the 25th of the same month she captured a Portu-
guese brigantine. The Philonoel sailed -from Ply.
mouth a month after the Mariner, viz., May 2d,
1847.

SIR CHARLES NAPIER'S SQUADRON,

We continue our details from the last arrival, of
the movements of the above squadron :
Dec. 9.—The packet sailed for England, and in the
afternoon the squadron bent sails per signal, which
was smartly done by all.
Dec. 10.—Exercised arming boats.
Dec. 13.—Steamed out for a trial of some days.
Dec. 14. Commander-in• Chief inspected the
Dragon.
Dec. 15.—The Blazer sailed for the coast of Africa.

Dec. 17.--Packet arrived from England. She
ought to have been here on the 12th. She had heavy
gales on the passage out. The squadron shifted main-
topmasts—the Howe and the Queen first; next the
Canopui, the St. Vincent, and the Albion.
The weather is very unsettled; occasional squalls
from the westward.

During the night of the 18th of December the
St. Vincent drove, but brought up again, and was
employed on Sunday, the 19th, getting into her berth
again.

The squadron was to have sailed on the 20th of
December, but the weather was too bad to start.
Dec. 22.—The Alert has just anchored, having ex-
perienced severe gales on her passage.
Neither tho packet from England nor that from
Gibraltar had come in yet (noon).
The squadron are just ordered to sea, leaving the
Howe and the Comet.

The squadron consists of the St. Vincent, the
Albion, the Canopus, the Queen, the Scourge, and the.
Dragon.