The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-30 00:00:00

TILE NAVI'.

A Malta letter, dated Aug. 25, says :—"During
the past week the Mediterranean fleet has been re-
inforced by the screw frigate Melpomene, Capt. C.
J. J. E wart, and screw line-of-battle ship Orion,
Capt. J. S. Frere. The Melpomene arrived here on
the 23d inst., 11 days from Gibraltar, and the Orion
on the 25th (to-day), also from Gibraltar, after a
passage of 10 days. Her Majesty's line-of-battle
ship Cressy left port on the 23d inst., and is still in
sight, cruising off the island. Her Majesty's screw
troopship Mega3ra, Commander Henderson, lately
returned from Corfu, left Malta on the 23d inst. for
England, with 154 naval and military invalids, also
the following passengers :—Lieut. Gregory, Capt.
Davis, R.M. ; Mr. Allen, R.N. ; Lieut. St. Aubyn,
22d Regiment ; Lieut. Phillips, R.N. ; Mr. Holmes,
Mrs. Pemberton, Mrs. Holman and two children,
Miss Allen, Miss Churchward. Her Majesty's ships
in port are the Hibernia, receiving ship ; the Queen,
the Orion, and the St. Jean 'd'Acre, line-of-battle
ships ; the Melpomene, screw frigate ; the Grey-
hound, screw corvette ; the Boxer, gunboat ; the
Caradoc, despatch•boat. By the French steamer
Du Trembley, arrived on the 22d inst. from Tunis,
we learn that on the 19th inst. (Sunday) the Hatti
Humayoum was promulgated at the Bardo, the
official residence of the Bey, and the mail for France
was detained for 24 hours to despatch the news to
the French Government. The Du Trembley left on
the 23d, on return to Tunis.

Her Majesty's screw steam-sloop Pioneer, 350
horse power, Mr. May, master, in command, left
Woolwich yesterday morning, on the engineer's
trial of machinery after repairs. The Pioneer has
been fitted with peculiar care to join Dr. Living-
stone's expedition in the Zambesi, and has been
freighted at Woolwich with a heavy cargo of vic-
tualling and other stores for the use of Dr. Living-
stone and the exploring party who accompany him.
The Pioneer anchored at Greenhithe for the adjust-
ment of her compasses, &c., under orders to sail to-
morrow for Plymouth, whence she will proceed in
tow or under convoy as far as Madeira, and will be
there cast adrift to make her own way towards her
destination. Before leaving Woolwich basin she
under Went a most rigid examination and thoro•ugh
survey, to ascertain her capabilities for the long
and trying voyage the little ship is about to under-
take. Mr. May, R.N., who has taken the cora-
mand, and who has already served five years with
Dr. Livingstone, came home from the Zambesi ex-
pressly to take out the Pioneer.
The Emerald, 51, screw, Capt. A. Cumming, ar-
rived at Spithead yesterday morning from Alder-
ney, with two batteries of Royal Artillery on board,
under the command of Major Lennox. They were
disembarked by steamtug, and joined the head-
quarters of the 15th brigade, stationed in Ports-
mouth garrison. The Emerald will have to be
placed in dock, having on Tuesday morning, while
getting under way in Alderney harbour, and in
charge of a pilot, struck on a rock on the ebb tide,
where she hung until released by the returning
flood. Her discharge-pipe is broken by the ship's
straining while on the rock, but her other damages
are not thought to be very serious. Hawsers were
got out, and every precaution taken by Capt. Cum-
ming and the officers of the ship to prevent her re-
ceiving any more injury than was unavoidable while
she lay in her perilous position.
The Rhadamanthus, paddle, Master-Commander
Sturdee, sailed from Portsmouth for Devonport yes
terday morning.
The Osborne, Admiralty paddle yacht, Master-
Commander G. K. Bower, sailed from Spithead yes
terday for the westward.
Practice with shot and shell, the former at 930,
and the latter at 1,800 yards, has during the past
week been made with Armstrong 12-pounder guile
at Cumberland Vort, near Portsmouth, the head-
quarters of the Royal Marine Artillery. The re-
sults of the firing at these ranges have further
proved the wonderful accuracy of the weapon, and
it has also reflected the highest possible credit on
the officers and men of this corps by the skill and
knowledge they have displayed in its working.
The tops and lower rigging have been placed
over the mastheads of the screw steam sloop Cur-
lew, 9, Commander Shaw, at Devonport.
The bottom of the screw steamship Gibraltar,
101, having been coppered in No. 1 dock, Keyham
steam-yard, she has been removed therefrom, and
is now in the basin. The gunboats Goshawk and
Partridge have been placed in the dock.
The screw steam Coastguard ship Hawke, 60,
Capt. W. Crispin, put back to Plymouth Sound on
Tuesday, owing to the boisterous state of the
weather.

The new contract-built steam gunboat Heron,
having been coppered, is removed from No. 4 dock,
Devonport dockyard, in which the new gunboat
Dotterel is now placed, for examination, &e.
The following appointments have been made at
the Admiralty :—Lieut. St. Vincent D. Lake to the
Spiteful; Lieut. Stanhope G. Price, to the Cam-
bridge ; Richard T. N. Pearce, master, tothe Spite-
ful ; William Roche (b), assistant-surg., confirmed
in the Falcon ; Thomas B. Potts, 3d class assistant
engineer, to the Hornet; and Edmund G. Ellis,
clerk, to the Blenheim.