The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-15 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

The navy estimates for 1851-2 will be about 5,700,000 L
The Admiralty packet service has been reduced to about
80,001.
Captain R. Harris (1849), who was promoted from the
Ganges, 84, in honour of the Queen's visit to Ireland, has
been selected by Commodore Martin as his flag-captain, to
re-commission the Prince Regent, 90. A better selection
could not have been made. Her present first lieutenant,
Mr. Barnard, who has just been promoted, will rejoin her
as the commander. It was reported at Portsmouth yester-
day, that a line—of-battle ship or man-of-war brig was passed
off Portland by a steamer, arrived at Portsmouth. This is,
no doubt, the Prince Regent, 90.
Lieutenant James Hosen (1828), who will be recognised
as the popular commander of the Great Western and Great
Britain, has been appointed to command the Banshee, ex-
Holyhead
ranean.

Lieutenant Charles Wake (1846), has been appointed to
commission the Bonetta, 3, at Chatham. The gallant officer
is now serving as first lieutenant in the Hecate steam sloop.
Rear-Admiral the Hon. M. F. F. Berkeley, C.P., M.P.,
accompanied by the Surveyor of the Navy, Captain Sir B.
Walker, K.C.8., visited Chatham Dockyard on Tuesday.
They arrived by the half-past eleven train, and proceeded on
board the Cumberland, 70, flag-ship of Sir G. F. Seymour,
and very minutely examined every part of the ship, after
which they inspected the Boscawen, 70, in dock, fitting for
the ordinary guard-ship ; also the 80-gun ship, building, after
which they returia4to toyvry„,_,,
Pnizglitowitt THE SzikaßD. Malt% Stillwell
have given notice that an account of bounties granted for
certain pirates who were killed or captured, and for others
who were engaged but escaped from two Chinese piratical
vessels destroyed between the 22d and 24th of March, 1850,
by the screw steam-sloop Reynard, were deposited in the re-
gistry on the 12th instant.

- Et•FECTS OF SHOT ON WOOD AND IRON SIIIFS.—A butt,
representing a section of a wood-built man-of-war, showing
both sides the ship, was some short time since ordered to be
constructed, and to be placed at the same distance from the
Excellent as the iron butt that was recently practised at
from that ship. About ten days ago this erection, on account
of the expense, was ordered to be discontinued, but by a new
order the butt now progresses again. It is for the purpose
of satisfactorily testing the effect of shot, fired at the same
range of direct fire on the different substances wood and iron.
The Excellent had some useful and splendid practice at the
old Swiftsure, 72, a year or two ago, and after being tho-
roughly riddled by shot and shell, she was sold for 1,5001.,
her value not being deteriorated by her being made a target
of. There are now in Portsmouth harbour many old obso-
lete vessels (that would never, under any circumstances, be
sent to sea), whose top sides are sufficiently sound for testing
the effect of shot, and whose value, if sold to break up,
would not be at all lessened by a few shot holes made through
them. Any one of these would have served the desired pur-
pose, and saved the expense (which is said to be consider-
able) incurred in building this new butt. This further
testing of the effects of shot on wood vessels has been adopted
to satisfy the iron ship-builders that the former reports have
been correct as to the awfully destructive effects of shot on
iron vessels.

Express and Ferret brigs, baying their repairs completed,
were taken out of No. 2 and 3 docks, at Devonport, on
Thursday afternoon.
Horatio screw steam-frigate has been sent from Chatham
to Sheerness, and after her engines have been sufficiently
tried, she will be placed in ordinary. •
Captain Yates, of the Britannia, has received an additional
five weeks' sick leave. We are sorry to hear the gallant
officer is still seriously ill.
Commander Crispin has rejoined the royal yacht, from Ad-
miralty leave.
Pike, old steam-packet, left Devonport on Thursday, in
charge of Mr. Hayle, mate of the Confiance steam-tug, for
Portsmouth, her boilers, after frequent patching', having
been found too defective for service.
Sampson steam-frigate, Captain Jones, and Bloodhound
steam-tender, have had their compasses adjusted at Devon-
port, by Mr. Thompson, Queen's harbour-master, and are now
waiting orders.

The American ship Peter Hatterick, laden with cotton,
which was disabled, and came into Portsmouth Harbour last
week, having been in collision with another vessel off the
Wight, was brought into the south dock yesterday to have a
leak stopped.
The Cornwall convict ship has anchored at Spithead. She
will complete her number to 300 from the convict ships here,
and proceed with them to Gibraltar.

SUPERIINNUATION.—Mr. George Clothier, late timber in-
spector at Chatham, discharged on the Ist of April last, has
been awarded a pension of 20c1. per annum.
PORTSMOUTH, FEB. 13.—The Arab, 12, Commander
Morris, arrived to-day from the East India and China sta-
tion, and the Cape of Good Hope. She sailed from the Cape
an the 23d of December, when the Commodore, in the Castor,
36, was off Quilimane. The Orestes, 14, Comm=der
Hawker, was on her way to the Mozambique, after refitting
in Simon's-Bay. The Pantaloon, 10, Commander Parker;
was cruising in the Mozambique to the northward. The
Hermes and Dee steam-vessels, and the Seringapatam store-
ship, were in Simon's Bay. The Dart brigantine was in the
M zambique. Lieutenant Stratton, from the Oretes, and
Mr. Masterson, clerk of the Royalist, have come home pas-
sengers in the Arab, which touched at St. Helena on the 2d
of January, where prizes to the steamers Rattler, Cormorant,
and Sharpshooter were awaiting adjudication.
PLYMOUTH, FRIDAY. —The General Screw Steam Ship-
ping Company's paddle-wheel steamer Queen, Captain
Thomas, put in for fuel this morning. She left Constanti-
nople the 14th of January; Smyrna, the 19th; Malta the
25th; and Gibraltar, the 6th of February.
_ _

Her BlajeQty's ship Powerful, 84, Captain ti e Hon.
Richard H. Dendas, left Gibraltar for England on the sth
inst. The steam-vessel Janus, 2, Li, utenant•Commander
Richard A Powell, was the only man-of-war at the Rock.
The Queen has brought a small mail from Gibraltar; she
has one passenger, Captain Richards, and a full cargo of
wool, copper, silks, gum, galls, opium, madder-root, oranges,
&c. She had but 2 cwt. of coal left when she entered the
harbour, and will proceed for the Thames this afternoon.
The Athol troop-ship, 4, Lieutenant-Commander William
A. R. Pearce, which arrived from Portsmouth on Tuesday,
was paid wages on Thursday.
The steam-vessel Pike sailed on Wednesday with super-
numeraries for Portsmouth.
The Pandora, 6, commander Byron Drury, went from
Hamosze into the Sound on Wednesday.
The frigate Portland, 50, Captain Henry Chads, arrived at
Rio Janiero in 56 days from this port; officers and crew all
well.
Yesterday, when eight leagues south-west of the Start-
point, the crew of the Plymouth pilot boat No. 18 saw the
wreck of a vessel, bottom up. She was fir-built, about 300
tons, and had painted white ports; about 40 feet of her keel
was perfect, but from the fact of its being broken both at
the stem and stern, it is supposed that the vessel had been
stranded and washed off again from the shore.