The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-17 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intailigence.

Captain H. C. Hardinge, 26th Cameronians, has re
lieved Captain C. It. B. Calcott in the command of the
depot of that corps at the Provisional Battalion, Chat-
ham, the latter officer having received orders to boll
himself in readiness to join the service companies of the
26th Regiment at Bermuda as an instructor in the En-
field rifle, with which weapon the troops of the 26th
have been armed.

The Lords of the Admiralty, in order to assimilate the
rewards granted for service in the Royal Marine corps
with those awarded in regiments of the line, have signi-
fied that the term of service in the Royal Marines is in
future to be estimated by years and days only.
The paddle-wheel steamer Avon, 3, tender to the Im-
pregnable, left Plymouth on Saturday evening, to relieve
the homeward bound ships in the Channel.
The screw steam-ship St. Jean d'Acre, 101, Captain
G. V. King, having had her copper examined and re-
paired, was taken out of dock at Devonport on Monday,
and the indus, 78, was placed id dock for examination.
The screw steam-ship Cornwallis, 60, is ordered to be
placed in dock at Devonport for examination and re-
pairs.

Her Majesty's ship Lucifer, which arrived in the Mer.
sey a few days ago, left Liverpool for Portsmouth yes-
terday with the fittings, &c., of vessels chartered by
Government from Liverpool as transports during the
war, but which have now been discharged.

DR. JOHNSON'S REPORT OAT PA RLIA-
MENTARY DEBATES.

(Front the Literary Gazette.)

In the autobiography of Sylvanus urban, the last num-
ber contains an account of the Parliamentary debates,
commenced sth May, 1733, and which, for some years,
formed a remarkable part of the literary labours of Dr.
Johnson. The idea of disguising the report of the pro-
ceedings, under the form of debate in the senate of Lilli-
put, originated with the historian Guthrie, who prefixed
an introduction, in which he said, " We doubt not
but our readers will be much pleased with the appendix
to Captain Gulliver's account,, which we received last
month, and which the late resolution of the House of
Commons, whereby we are forbidden to insert any of the
proceedings of the British Parliament, gives us an oppor-
tunity of communicating in their room." Many interest-
ing historical details as to the authorship of the debates are
collected by the writer of the autobiography, and several
misstatements are corrected as to the part taken by Dr.
Johnson in the work. He was the solo composer of the
debates in the years or sessions 1740-1-2 and 3. He did
not write any of the earlier debates, as is affirmed by Mr.
Croker, these being contributed by Mr. Guthrie. The
anecdote is related of Johnson's interview with Nichols,
whom he sent for a few days before his death, and refer-
ring to these debates, he solemnly declared that they were
the only part of his writings that gave him any compunc-
tion, but that, at the time of his writing them, be did
not think he was imposing on the world. It will be re-
membered that the conscientious moralist ceased to write
the debates on finding that many persons believed them to
be genuine, saying, '' he would not be accessory to the pro-
pagation of a falsehood." Shortly after Johnson's death
his debates were collected and arranged as a supplement to
the edition of his works then recently issued by the London
booksellers. They were published in 1787 by Stockdale, in
Piccadilly, with a preface by Chalmers, the author of
"Caledonia." Mr. Wright has pointed out the imperfec-
tions of this work, which does not contain several of his
best compositions, including the debate on Mr. Sandy's
motion for the removal of Sir R. Walpole, on the 13th
Feb., 1741. Mr. Wright's researches were unfortunately
unknown to the editor of Johnson's works, published by
Pickering, and Talboys and Wheeler, in 18 t 5, the 10th and
11th volume of which are reprints of Stockdale's edition
of the debates. We strongly support the wish expressed by
Sylvanus 'Urban, that the debates may be included in the
collection of Johnson's works, now editing by Mr. Peter
Cunningham, in the series of the British classics.

GREAT FLOODS IN CONWAY VALE.—The town of
Llanwrst, situated in the Vale of Conway, was com-
pletely inundated during the late gale and heavy rains.
The whole of the vale which lies between Carnarvon-
shire and Denbighehire, was one vast lake, and all com-
munication between the twe counties was cut off.
Several of the streets in Llanwr4 were totally impas-
sable, and on Sunday the chapels were unapproachable,
and remained empty during the day. A few people
attempted to go to St. Mary's Church, but had to be
conveyed through the water in cars. Houses were
deluged to the depth of many feet, and great losses in
furniture and other property sustained. A hatter's
establishment was flooded, the hats floating in every
direction. One old man awoke from sleep to find
himself sailing in his bed, followed by a large water-
jug. The contents of two surgeries were destroyed.
So great was the fury of the tempest that the founda-
tions of Plas Helig, the residence of Mr. Thomas
Williams, brewer, were in a great measure undermined
by the force of a small stream which rolled against
it, and the embankment of a mill reservoir adjacent
was totally destroyed.
THE ACCIDENT TO THE AZOFP STEAMER.—SOUTHAIIP-
TON, Tuesday.—The Madrid steamer, which left here
yesterday morning to aQsist the Azoff, disabled (as re-
ported in The Sun of Monday), returned this morning,
with the Azoff in company, having fallen in with her a
little to the westward of Portland. The latter ship has
suffered severely from stress of weather, her boats having
been washed away, and bulwarks, steering gear, &c.,
seriously damaged. Her bowsprit was carried away
while being taken in tow by the Cleopatra, and she
shipped, in consequence, a great quantity of water, which
interfered with the proper working of the pumps ; a, d it
is supposed, from the cursory examination of the ship
made to-day, that the hull and machinery are undis-
turbed. The Azoff will, however, bs docked immediately,
when every part of her will undergo a thorough exami-
nation. The crew have suffered severely from the con-
tinued violence of the gale and heavy seas, and a few
minor casualties have occurred, but fortunately no life
has been lost, or any serious injury sustained. The
Madrid assisted her home, but the engines of the Azoff
worked as freely as ever, tending to show that the ma-
chinery had not been much interfered with.