The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-24 00:00:00

Naval and Military intelligence.

An Admiralty order has been received at Sheerness,
postponing the experiments that were to have taken place
at Shoeburyness to-morrow against the floating battery
Trusty. She remains now at her harbour moorings, all
ready ; on the inside of her starboard side, the side in-
tended to be fired at, all her ports are secured by solid
timber, shored with square baulks of timber from the side
to the midships hatchway combings. This certainly could
not be adopted if she was in action against a stone bat-
tery, and it has been suggested that she should receive
the fire in the same state she must be in if in active ser-
vice. Notwithstanding this, the undermentioned officers
have offered their services to remain on board her while
sender fire :—Capt. Edward P. Halsted, Commander H.
Lloyd, Lieut. Fred. Pyne, Lieut. Godfrey Taylor, and
Lieat. Geo. V. Phillips, all belonging to the Edinburgh
screw steam guardship, of the reserve, at Sheerness.
Several consultations of naval artillery officers have re-
cently been held at Sheerness and Shoeburyness.
So large is the number of invalid troops now stationed
at St. Mary's Barracks, Chatham, awaiting an order for
their discharge, that the Commissioners from Chelsea
Hospital have been occupied for three days in medically
inspecting those non•commissioned officers and men who
had been recommended for discharge. The commissioners

engaged in this duty were Mr. D. Maclachlan, Deputy
Inspector-General of Hospitals, assisted by Dr. J. It.
Taylor, C. 8., Deputy Inspector General of Hospitals, and
Dr. Tice. During the sitting of the board 386 invalids
were inspected by the commissioners—a larger number
than were ever inspected on one occasion —the whole
of whom were ordered to hold themselves in readiness
to be discharged from Chatham on Thursday next. Not-
withstanding the immense number of invalids discharged
from St. Mary's invalid depot during the past year,
there are still upwards of 1,500 sick and wounded men
at that establishment, and a detachment of 80 men ar-
rived on Saturday.
On Saturday the ship Acadia, of London, Capt. Richd.
Spratley, from London, bound to Buenos Ayres, with
158 officers and men lately disbanded from the British
Italian Legion, was towed into Sheerness Harbour by
the steam tug vessel Sir Walter Scott, John Barrowly,
master, and anchored abreast of the flagship Waterloo,
120 guns, Capt. Lord Frederick Kerr, for the purpose of
obtaining and securing during their outward passage,
firearms, ammunition, bowieknives, swordsticks, and
dangerous weapons of various kinds, which a number of
the men had purchased at Gravesend, and refused to give
up to the captain and officers accompanying them out.
The officers in charge were Captain Gwyn, commandant,
Capt. Bianchi, Capt. Moreschi, Ensign Porsi, and Inter-
preter Zambianchi. Capt. Spratley, in command of the
Acadia, with whom was Capt. Clark, ship's husband to
the house of Charles Walten and Sons, the owners, find-
ing the officers in charge could not succeed in effecting a
delivery up of their arms at Gravesend, determined on
obtaining the assistance of the commander-in-chief at the
port, the Hon. W. Gordon ; and for this purpose, on the
ship a arrival, Capt. Spratley and Capt. Clark waited
upon the commander-in-chief, who received them most
cordially, and in a short time First Lieutenant Edward E.
Maunsell, of the Waterloo, proceeded on board the Acadia
with the master-at-arms and ship's corporal, who were
shortly after followed by Capt. Lord Frederick Kerr. The
request of Capt. Spratley and Capt. Gwyn was inter-
preted to the men by Lieutenant Maunsell, addressing
them in French, and Zatabianchi, in Italian, informing
them that it was the custom of this country on emigrants
embarking for a foreign port, to deliver up all arms,
ammunition, and any unlawful weapons they were taking
out for their protection at their port of destination.
After some conversation among the men, who formed
in different groups upon deck, Cavice Giovanni, a pri-
vate of the 2d Regiment of the Legion, set an example
by walking quietly up on the forecastle, drawing his
six-barrel revolver, and discharging all six shots into the
water. He then came aft, on the poop, and delivered
his revolver, with all his ammunition, to Captain Gwyn,
and the other officers, for which he received a receipt.
Upon the others seeing this done they followed the ex-
ample. Revolver after revolver was discharged and
given up, bowie-knives, swordsticks, poniards, dirks,
&c. Captain Lord Frederick Kerr, with Lieutenant
Maunsell, the master of the Acadia, and the ship's
husband, assisted by the non-commissioned officers of
the Legion, the master-at-arms and ship's corporal,
then proceeded below into the berths of the soldiers,
and every man opened his box or sack to satisfy all par-
ties they had no firearms or weapons concealed therein.
During the search Captain Spratley detected two bowie.
knives and a swordstick concealed, for which no owner
could be found. This being effected, Captain Lord
Frederick Kerr left, and on Lieutenant Maunsell leav-
ing he addressed the men, recommending them not to
forget they were soldiers, arid to cheerfully obey all
orders of their superior officers, upon which the men
gave him three hearty cheers. Captain Clark was also
loudly cheered by the offieers, men, and women, Of
the latter there was a goodly number. The Acadia
left the harbour at 4.15 p.m. on Saturday.
The Hermes, 6, paddle-wheel steam-sloop, Commander
William E. A. Gordon, recently returned from North
America and West Indies, has been taken into No. 2
dry dock, at Sheerness, to make good defects.
On Friday last the Royal George, 102 guns, in the
steam reserve at Sheerness, was taken out on a trial of
her machinery under the superintendence of Mr. George
Blaxland, civil engineer. On her trial, between the
Great Nora and the Mouse light vessel, her engines,
with 141 b. pressure on the square inch, made 62 revolu-
tions per minute, and an increase of from one and
a half to two knots per hour, by patent log, was ob-
tained beyond what she had ever previously done.
The frigate Raleigh, 50, Captain the Hon. Henry
Keppel, from Portsmouth, arrived in Plymouth Sound
on Friday evening, and is appointed to call to-day for
the Eastlndies, calling in Algoa-bay to land specie.
The paddlewheel steamship Bulldog, Commander
Alexander C. Gordon, from Sheerness, arrived at Ply-
mouth on Saturday, with seamen paid off from the
Hannibal.
The steam vessel Advice, from Cork, arrived at Ply-
mouth on Thursday. with supernumeraries for the Im-
pregnable, 104, flag of Admiral Sir Wm. Parker, and
sailed again on Saturday.
The gunboats Ac'm in and Ringdove, from Ports-
mouth, arrived at Plymouth on Saturday.
The screw steam storeship Himalaya having made a
snecessful trip in the Channel, returned to Hamoaze on
Saturday.
Letters have been received at Plymouth, from the
screw steamship Duke of Wellington, 131, Captain IL
Caldwell, dated Nov. 4, at Malta, where she was wait-
ing for orders. Crew well.
Capt. Craigie, R.N., entered upon his duties as Capt.
Superintendent of the Royal William Victu
Plymouth, on Wednesday, and on Saturday accompanied
by Mr. Triscott, storekeper, and the other officers,in-
spected the bakehouse, cooperage, stores, &c.
The Star of Peace, Capt. Sproat, from London, ar-
rived at Plymouth on Saturday, and is appointed to sail
to-morrow, with a mail for Sydney.
The following promotions were made on Saturday :
Commanders A. Heseltine, C. R. Johnson and G. J.
Napier are promoted to Captains. Commander J. B.
Crag;, A. S. Booth and G. S. Reynolds, to be Captains
on the reserved list. Lieutenants S. B. Dolling, Henry
Brown, Arthur Barrow, and H. F. W. Ingram
are promoted to Commanders. Lieutenant Percival
Baskerville to be Commander on the reserved list.
The following appointments were made on Saturday
at the Admiralty :
Commander Robert Tench Bedford to the Royal Wit-
lidip
ina:os,hvicmeeCn,ragg, promoted ; Lieutenant R. 11. Dalton
to. the Formidable ; W. F. Boughey and E. D. Achlom,
to the Hermes.

PORTSMOUTH, Nor. 22,

The last illustration of the present plan of paying off
ships' crews is perhaps the very worst it could receive.
As already reported, the Hannibal, 91, screw ship, Capt.
Hay, was paid off at this port on Thursday, or rather, it
commenced at 10 in the morning of that day, but did not
finally conclude till 3 o'clock on Friday morning. The
number to be paid comprised about 700 seamen, the
marines and marine artillery being paid at their respective
head-quarters, and the sum sent on board the Hannibal
by the Portsmouth Branch Bank of England, for this
purpose, amounted to about 13,000/. The paying off of
ships of war, up to a few months of the present time,
was effected by the clerks belonging to the pay-office in
the dockyard, and a ship like the Hannibal usually had
her crew all paid off in the time included from ten in the
morning to three in the afternoon. The pay-office has
been abolished so far as this service is concerned, and
ships' crews are now paid by their 'own paymasters.
These officers, from having little or no experience in the
duties of a cashier, cannot be very au fait in their dis-
charge, and it is only
reasonable to suppose that the
disbursement of so large a sum among such a number
of men, hardly two of whom receive the same amount,
must be a work of time and responsibility. What-
ever may have been the cause the results to the men
have been,
in a great number of instances, lament-
able and disastrous. The ship was paid off up the
harbour, in the middle of the stream, and the men had
to reach the shore in watermen's boats, of course paying
a fare of the most exorbitant character, even considering
the hour of the night or morning. But this was the
smallest of their troubles. About fifty were prudent
enough to go to the Sailors' Home, which was kindly
kept open on the occasion all night, and there found
shelter and protection; but others, as may ln expected,

were tempted to indulge in something to cheer or warm
them, the night being dark, damp, and cold. Many of
these poor fellows had a piteous tale to telt in the course
of a few hours. At seven o'clock in the morning one
man presented himself to the police at the dockyard
gates, and requested their aid, saying be was only paid
off a few hours before, and that he had already been
robbed of every farthing he received-211. In the
course of the day several others went to the Borough
police stations complaining of having been robbed of
141., 151., and other similar sums of money ; but so
bewildered were they from the effects of the horrible
drink they had received that they were totally unable
to tell the police what houses they had been to. The
paying of men under such circumstances is to them a
curse of the bitterest character. They not only, at least
many of them lose their money, clothes, &c., but they
get brutally ill-treated. One man was seen in the
streets to-day half naked, without. a farthing in his
pocket, his eyes swollen and disccloured, his face cut
in a shocking manner, and exclaiming, with an oath,
that "he had just been paid off, but would b©
before he would be paid off again in the navy." Although
t,:le number of instances similar to thee we have de-
Ecr.;bed has been great, it is only surprising that out of
so
,any men landing at such an hour with so much
money in their possession, and beset by crimps, prosti-
tutes, &C., that number has not been greater. It is ob-
vious that some material improvement is needed in the
system of paying off ships of war. A number of the
Marine Artillery detachment serving on board the Han-
nibal also ca►n e in for a share of the misfortunes of the
occasion. Thev were kept on sentry till the last man
was paid, and were then, at four o'clock in the morning,
sent on shore, aml marched to the head quarters of the
corps in Portsmouth. Ont of some 25 men composing
the detachment, half a dozen were at head-quarters at
once placed under arrest and coneigned for various breaches
of discipline, &0., which were no doubt attributable to
the lengthened period they had been kept on duty. The
marines belonged to the Woolwich division, and they
had the good fortune to be sent to that place by railway
at about noon on Thursday.

Nov. 23.
The order for the Shannon, 51, screw, to come into
harbour hai to-day been countermanded.
The Bulldog, paddle sloop, Commander Gordon,
arrived to-day from a cruise.

WOOLWICH, Nov. 23.

-VISIT OF MISS NIGHTINGALE TO WOOLWICH.—Miss
F. Nightingale', accompanied by Lord Panmure, paid an
unexpected visit to Woolwich on Friday last, and were
received by Sir W. F. Williams, commandant of the
garrison, who subsequently proceeded with the distin-
guished party to the Royal Artillery Hospital, which
was minutely inspected, .Dr. Hallahan, the Deputy In-
spector-General, conducting the visitors over the various
wards, and explaining the arrangements and regulations.
Miss Nightingale recognioed several of the Royal Artil-
lery who had been under her care at hospitals in the
East, and with these she freely conversed. After re-
maining in this building two hours, the party proceeded
to the Cadets' Hospital connected with the Royal Mili-
tary Academy, and, after a similar inspection of this es-
tablishment, returned to London. The visit was strictly
incognito, and but few were aware that the lady who
accompanied the Secretary-at-War was Florence Night-
ingale.