The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-23 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

The followir ig promotions were made on the re-
turn of the se ivadron with his Royal Highness the
Prince of 'F;ales from America :—Commander F.
H. Stirling, of the Hero, to be Captain ; Lieut. A.
Philips, ( the Ariadne, to be Commander ; and
Messrs. Parsons, Williams, Francis, and S. D.
Broneiton, mates of the Hero, to be Lieutenants.

His., Royal Highness Prince Alfred is to join the
St. George, 90, Capt. the Hon. F. Egerton, at this
port. The Re,,-. W. L. Onslow, chaplain and naval
instructor of the Euryalus, will also join the St.
George as special instructor to the Prince. Mr.
Barris, of the Britannia, training ship at Ports-
mouth, has been selected to attend the Prince in
the St. George. In this ship the royal midshipman,
we hear, will visit the West India Islands and
North Arnerica.—Plymouth Journal.
The following letter, dated Valetta, Nov. 15, is
from a Malta correspondent :
" Since my last letter I have only to announce,
in the way of movements of our men .of-war, the
'departure on the 12th inst. fer Corfu, to bring back
invalids, of the steam troopship Megmra, Coro.
Henderson, and the arrival on the 14th of the gun-
boats Foxhound and Alacrity, the former from
England and Gibraltar, and the latter from Corfu.
Owing to some accidental cause that has not trans-
Fired, the 'Megmra returned into port soon after
leaving, signals having been made for her to do so.
She left again immediately for the same destination.
Several officers of the garrison took passage by her
fog a trip. The Foxhound has been a long while on
her passage, having been 23 days from England,
and 9 from Gibraltar, The Alacrity leaves with a
mail for the fleet at Corfu to-night.
" On the 14th inst, in pursuance of a general
order issued the preceding day, the guns bearing on
the sea front of this fortress were manned at a pre-
concerted signal and repeatedly fired, as if to ward
off an attack from that direction. 100 men, with a
due proportion of officers from each of the battalions
of the line regiments in garrison, selected for their
efficiency in gun-drill, took part with the Royal
Artillery in this affair. The booming of the heavy
ordnance drew numbers of the inhabitants to the
line walls to witness the firing.
"Sir W. Codrington, K.C.8., the present Gover-
nos of Gibraltar, and towards the end of the Cri-
mean campaign commander-in-chief of the British
army before Sebastopol, who arrived here on the 7th
inst. in the troopship Megrera, on leave of absence,
left on the 9th, in the French packet Vatican, for
Naples.
"The English screw steamer Elba arrived yes-
terday from England, and commenced early this
morning, under the superintendence of Capt. Drake,
.of the Royal Engineers, laying the submarine elec-
tric cable, brought out by her, to connect the diffe-
rent forts and military and naval stations of this
fortress with head-quarters at the palace."
The Charybdis, 21, screw, Capt. the Hon. G. D.
Keane, arrived at Spithead on Wednesday from the
eastward, exchanging the usual honorary salutes
with the Victory, flag-ship of the Commander-in-
Chief, on anchoring. She sailed again yesterday at
2 p.m., by the Needles passage, for Devonport.
The Bulldog, 6, paddle, Capt. SirF. L. M'Clintock,
at Portsmouth, still awaits orders from the Admi-
ralty. Her crew are granted leave ashore each
evening in watches.
The Meteor, 16, floating battery, in dock at
Portsmouth, has had her plates parallel with her
main deck ports taken off, and the row underneath
are in course of removal. So far as can be ascertained
at present,, this vessel is rotten fore and aft. Scarcely
a sound timber can be seen in her. Several of her
beams mead a large portion of her shelf pieces are
little better than a mass of dust held together by
the paint.
The; Coquette, 6, screw, in dock at Portsmouth, is
receiving her copper, and will be undocked in a few
days. She has been nearly two-thirds rebuilt.
The Rosamond 6, paddle, in the dock adjoining
the Coquette, has her bulwarks down fore and aft,
planking stripped to expose timber heads, and is
otherwise undergoing a thorough overhaul and re-
pair, both internally and externally. This vessel is
the fever-stricken Eclair, on board which so many
lives were lost some years since.
The Euryalus, 51, screw, paid off at Portsmouth
on Monday last, has been taken in hand by the
steam reserve, and commenced returning her re-
maining stores, &c. She is to be fitted with a poop
on the same plan as the Forte, and is expected to be
commissioned for the flagship on the Pacific or
China station. The Euryalus was paid off on the
plan which the late Admiral Sir Charles Napier so
long and earnestly advocated.
In consequence of the severe storm from the south-
ward. experienced at Plymouth on Wednesday, it
was not considered prudent to attempt to move any
of the ships in the Sound, but, the weather having
moderated, yesterday the screw steamship Hero, 91,
Commodore Seymour, got up steam and proceeded
into Hamoaze, to have defects made good, and the
furniture used by his Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales and suite returned. The screw steam
frigate Ariadne, 26, Capt. Edward W. Vansittart,
also got up steam, went into the inner harbour,
and discharged her powder. The screw steam
gun vessel Flying Fish, 6, Commander C. W.
Hope, left the Sound at the same time, and
went into Hamoaze to have her defects made good.
The defects of the screw steamship Sanspareil,
78, Capt. Wilmot, in Plymouth Sound, are made
good, She has received supernumeraries for the
Ajax at Kingston, and is preparieg for sea.
Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Sabine Pasley, Bart.,
Admiral Superintendent of the Devonport Dock-
yard, struck his flag yesterday on board the Royal
Adelaide, 104, Capt. Hall, in Hamoaze, and has
gone on leave of absence. The duties of his office
devolve in the meantime on Commander J. Brown,
Master Attendant of the yard.
The steam sloop Ariel, 9, Commander Alexander,
at Devonport, continues under examination. She
is ordered to be undocked, probably for the purpose
of getting up steam for another trial.

The paddlewheel steam storeship Rhadamanthus,
4, Master Commander Frederick R. Sturdee, has
been placed alongside the Rue] William Victual-
ling yard, at Plymouth, for the purpose of receiving
several hundred casks of provisions.
The defects of the paddlewheel steam sloop
Spiteful, 6, Commander Wilson, at Devonport,
haling been made good e►id the rake of her fore-
mast altered, she will shoe tly remove into Plymouth
Sound.

The defects of the gunboat Porpoise, at Devon-
port have been made good, and she is now out of
the hands of the artisans of the dockyard.
Steam 1"s got up yesterday on board the pad-
dlewheel steam stoop Geyser, Commander Jackson,
and she-loft u
4mouth Sound for Lisbon taking
supernumeraries for the fleet in the Tagus.
The steam storeship Dee was hauled yesterday
out of the Key
tohc oal, amb64io, and placed alongside the
for Pembroke.
hulk Pallas preparatory to her departure

Commodore Seymour has
struck his broad
pennant on board the Hero at Plymouth, and has
gone on leave of absence.
(Satur
A court-martial will be held to-morrow
day), on board the flagship Impregnable,
Hamoaze, Plymouth, for the trial of Mr. °enrge
104, in
Samuel Thunder, chief engineer of the Hero, ooa
charge of drunkenness.
The following vessels are in the 'steam basin at
Portsmouth :—The Immortalite, 51, screw, eapt.
G. Hancock, caulking and fitting for service ; the
Harrier, 17, screw, Commander Sir Malcolm
M'Gregor, fitting out for service ; the Firebrand,
6, paddle, Commander J. M. Bruce, refitting; the
Frederic William, 86, screw, completed fitment of
machinery, and will make her official trial next
spring ; the Sutlej, 51, screw; the Pelican, 17,
screw ; and the Volcano, paddle, floating factory.
The ships in commisssion at Portsmouth (sea-
going vessels) comprise three screw liners, three
screw frigates, one screw corvette, and three paddle
sloops, giving a total force of 431 guns, propelled
by 5,430 horse-power of engines (nominal).
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. E. F. Weld, addi-
tional to the Hawke, for the Coastguard Service ;
Henry W Inglis,
master, to the Gorgon ; Frede-
rick Towns
t master, to the Icarus ; Jas. Roffee,
chief engineer, to the Asia, for the Sutlej ; Peter

Wood, chief engineer to the Mersey ; William Y.
Taylor, master's ass►stant to the Rhadamanthus ;
and Alfred Barrow, paymaster, to the Barracouta.

THE VOLUNTEER MOVEMBNI.

The most remarkable public me: ing held in
Sheffield for many years took place on Wednesday,
in the Temperance-hall, Townhead-street, on the
subject of the Volunteer movement in Sheffield. It
was called by the Mayor, on the requisition of about
160 individuals and firms, comprising nearly all the
most considerable men of all sects and parties in
the town. The object was stated to be to consider
the present position of the movement, and to adopt
such measures as may be deemed advisable to fur-
ther in Sheffield a course which was believed to be
connected with the welfare and peace of the coun-
try. The meeting, at which the Mayor presided,
fully represented all classes in the town.
The MASTER CUTLER (Mr. Hunter, jun.), pro-
posed :
" That this meeting, while heartily approving the Volun-
teer movement throughout the country, regrets that the
number of Rifle Volunteers in Sheffield is incommensurate
with the population and the importance of the town."

Mr. J. RODGERS seconded the resolution.

Mr. N. CRESWICK, after some objections on the
part of the Mayor and others, read a statement on
behalf of himself and other officers who had re-
signed their commissions in the Hallamshire Rifles.
The resolution was carried with very few dis-
sentients.
Mr. DUNN moved :

" That in the opinion of this meeting the Rifle movement
in this town, under the present management, cannot attain
that degree of efficiency which might under other circum-
stances be justifiably expected to attend it"

The motion was put and carried by an over-
whelming majority, the number of hands against it
being comparatively very small. The Mayor de-
clared the proposition to be carried by " a very
large majority indeed."
Mr. FISIIER moved :

" That in the opinion of this meeting it is desirable that
steps be taken for the formation of another local Volunteer
crops, and that the following gentlemen be requested to com-
municate the resolutions passed at this meeting to the
Lord-Lieutenant, and in the event of sanction being obtained
for the formation of a new corps, to act (with power to add
to their number) as a committee to take the necessary
steps for that purpose :—The Mayor, the Master Cutler,
Mr. T. Dunn, Mr. C. Atkinson, Mr. S. Newbould, Mr. H.
J. Dixon, Mr. R. B. Streatfield, Mr. W. C. Corsan, Mr.
N. Creswick, Mr. R. Waterhouse, and Mr. T. E. Mycoek.
Dr. HOLLAND, in seconding the motion, said the
requisition calling the meeting was one of the most
extraordinary documents that had ever appeared in
a Sheffield newspaper, both as to the number and
character of the requisitionists. Dr. Holland dwelt
upon the importance of the volunteer movement,
urging that the present state of the movement in
Sheffield was a miserable display of inefficiency for
a population of nearly 200,000 persons—a popula-
tion, too, which could produce a larger proportion-
ate number of fine athletic young men than 'any
other in the kingdom. Sheffield certainly ought not
to rest satisfied with a corps of less than 2,000 men.
He deeply regretted that Sheffield should lag so
much behind in this great patriotiovolunteer move-
ment. (Cheers.)

The motion was put and carried, apparently
without opposition. •

A vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding con-
cluded the proceedings, which lasted upwards of
four hours.

The prize meeting of the West Middlesex Rifles
commenced on Tuesday last the rifle practice ground,
Wormwood Scrubs ; but in consequence of the un-
favourable state of the ground, very few visitors at-
tended each day. There were 102 entries for the
company prizes of £5 eaeh, the competition being
confined to members who had obtained 15 points
in the 3d class. The shooting was carried on at the
butts of the West Middlesex, Queen's( Westminster),
and the St. George's corps, each man firing five
rounds at 200 and 300 yards' range. The following
were the successful members :—A company, Mr. F.
Picton, 13 points ; C company, Ensign Morris, 12
points ; D company, Captain Dear, 14 points ; E
company, Mr. W. Watson, 19 points ; F company,
Corporal J. Clark, 15 points; and Gcompany, Mr.
W. Barker, 10 points. The shooting of Mr.
Watson was highly commended, as, in spite
of the wind blowing across the range, that
gentleman scored three centres, a bull's-eye, and an
outer at 200 yards, and four centres and an outer
at 300 yards.
The services of the London Light Horse Volun-
teers, which were formed by several gentlemen at
the west end of the metropolis, members of her
Majesty's Hunt, having been accepted by the au-
thorities, under the designation of the Ist Middlesex
Light Horse 'Volunteers, a general meeting was held
last night at Willis's Rooms, St. James's, for the
purpose of making the final arrangements for the
organisation of the regimer t and a parade at an early
date. Major Richardson, C. 8., late of the Bth Ben-
gal Irregulars, took the chair. The meeting was
well attended, and among others present were the
Count de Gendre, Messrs. Bowen May, C. Wester-
ton, E. Tattersall, Boyle, Dymoke Green, G. Reece,
Neville, &c. The Chairman briefly stated the ob-
jects of the meeting. He said he hoped now to pro-
ceed to the final organisation of the corps. They
had already 70 or 80 members enrolled, and he
hoped they would have more before long; but he
was sorry to say that the uniform they had selected
had been objected to by the authorities—in fact, the
silver lace had been their ruin. The ,Government
had set their face against it, and there was there-
fore nothing for it but to obey. The meeting was
aware that by a recent order from the Horse Guards
soldiers in her Majesty's army were obliged to salute
the officers of the Volunteers, and the authorities
did not think there was sufficient distinction be-
tween the uniform they had selected for their corps
and that of the officers of the regular army. In-
stead of the silver lace, therefore, the privates of the
Ist Middlesex Light Horse would have their uni-
forms trimmed with white braid, and the pantaloons
were to have a stripe of white cloth. The gallant
major then proceeded to read the rules, which, he
said had been based on those of the old London Light
Horse, with some additions of his own, and these
were unanimously agreed to. It was settled that
the annual subscription should be five guineas, with
no entrance fee until the Ist of January next ; but
that after that time any gentleman joining should
pay one guinea entrance fee, in addition to
the five guineas per annum. The Chairman
said they had now to appoint a committee and se-
cretary, and he called upon the meeting to propose
them. Messrs. Tattersall, Sheppard, Bowen May,
Garrard Dymoke Green, Neville, and Boyle, were
then elected on the committee, and the appointment
of the secretary was left to them. After some dis-
cussion, it was agreed that the expenses which had
been incurred hitherto in the formation of the
corps, in advertising, &c., should come out of the
general fund. Mr. Tattersall, in proposing that
Major Richardson should be the commandant, said
that he thought they should congratulate them-
selves upon having been fortunate enough to obtain
the services of that gentleman in organising the
corps. He was a man who had risen to the present
position entirely by his own exertions, and was
one of the most distinguished officers in the Indian
army, having himself organised and commanded a
corps of irregulars during the late rebellion in In-
dia. He feared, however, that so useful a man
would not be allowed to remain long idle, and that
they would be deprived of his services. He had
great Pleasure in proposing Major Richardson
as
their
commanding officer, This was unanimously
carried, and the chairman returned thanks for the
honour they
had done him in selecting him as their
commandant, and the
kind words spoken of him.
As long as be remained in
E
happy to promote the interests go lfa
way he cauld. After so thend ehoer
psshionu
el dv e
rbye
me
further business the
ex Engineer Volunteers meeting
(head-
quarters
elsstepiNlairdadted.
les
South Kensington) now muster nearlysso
strong,
and will probably soon reach the full
strength
p a n
Carrington
s'
Yesterday presented a silver
bugle to the Eton Volunteers. At twelve o'clock
of s
iLx a cdoy m
the Etonian', numbering nearly 300, mustered in
the Quadrangle of the college. Shortly after-
wards, under the command of Captain Chapman,