The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-02 00:00:00

A letter froin Malta, dated Valetta, October 26,
says :—" Her Majesty's gunboat Assurance, Com-
mander Aynsley, arrived here on the 21st inst. from
Alexandria (9 days), and from Sada Bay (2 days).
Admiral Martin, with the line-of-battle ships that
were on the coast of Syria, was quitting Suda Bay
for Corfu when the Assurance left. It is now re-
ported that 10 line-of-battle ships are to remain at
Corfu during the winter, and that constant com-
munication is to be maintained between the Com-
mander-in-Chief and the naval authorities hero by
means of three gunboats told off for the service.
Her Majesty's despatch boat Banshee left Malta on
Saturday last for Constantinople. This vessel was
to have conveyed Lieut. Smith, of the Royal Engi-
neers, and Lieut. Porcher, of the Royal Navy, to
the coast of Africa, on an antiquarian expedition to
Cyrene, as stated in my last letter ; but according
to new arrangements, the Boxer gunboat has been
substituted for her. The Boxer went round on
Tuesday from Sliema Creek to the dockyard to have
her boilers, which have been undergoing repair,
replaced. The crew of the St. Jean d'Acre line-of-
battle ship are still on board the receiving ship
Hibernia, and since their removal.l understand the
health of the men has much improved, nor do I
hear of any new cases of sickness having occurred.
Accounts have just been received from her Majesty's
gunboat Recruit, in the Danube, stating that the
crew had been suffering severely from low fever.
Six working hands were at one time all that were
left to carry on the work of the ship. Two or three
deaths had occurred among the men, and two in-
valids have arrived at Malta. I have accounts, re•
ceived 'Allis morning, of her Majesty's surveying
vessel Medina. She was at Smyrna on the 21st of
October. The Dutch war steamer Cycloop, Capt.
Taewater, left Malta for Constantinople on the 20th
inst., and the frigate Van Wassenaer, Capt. Van
Voss, of the smile nation, on the following day,
for Holland. The Dutch transport barque Helder
arrived here from Alexandria on the 23d inst., also
bound for Holland. The Prussian gunboat Lorely,
Capt. H. Kusm (the same which some time back
conveyed despatches from the King of Naples, at
Gaeta, to the Neapolitan commander of the citadel
of Messina, ordering him on no account to surrender,
unless he received an order to such effect from the
King), left portlln the 21st inst. for Constantinople.
The French corvette, Colbert, Capt. Boisguil-
renneud, arrived on the 21st inst. from Toulon, and
left on the following day for Beyrout. She has on
board stores and 52 supernumeraries for the French
fleet."

The screw corvette Orpheus, 21, 400-horse power,
was yesterday commenced being coppered in No.
2 basin at Chatham Dockyard, preparatory to join-
ing the second division of the steam reserve, for
which service she is expected to be ready by the
10th inst.
The Arethusa, 51, converting at Chatham Dock-
yard to? screw steamer, is in a very forward state,
and every effort is being made to complete her with
all despatch. Only a portion of the dock in which
she is lying being covered in, advantage is being
taken of the present fine weather to hasten forward
the work.
Letters received at Plymouth from the paddle-
wheel steam sloop Hydra, 6, Commander Richard
V. Hamilton, state that on the 7th of October she
was at Port Royal, Jamaica, eight days from
Grenada, and that she was preparing to leave for
Greytown, where she would remain some time.
The utmost activity now prevails in all depart-
ments of Pembroke Dockyard. The following are
the names of the vessels already in progress--viz.,
the Defiance, 91; the Triumph, 91; the Zealous,
1 ; the Tweed, 51 ; the Aurora, 51 the Perseus,
17 ; the Shearwater, 11 ; the Pandora, 5; the Nassau,'
4 ; the Tartarus, 4; and the Newport, 5. Of these the
Pandora, the Nassau, the Tartarus, and the New-
port are to be wholly armed with the Armstrong
guns. The following are also preparing to be laid
down without delay—viz., the Blake, 91 ; the 'Ra-
leigh, 51 (to replace the one lost itioMacao Roads in
April, 1857, when Sir H. Keppel saluted the French
Admiral's flag while his ship was filling); the
Trent, 17 ; the Humber, 6 ; the Rye, 5; besides
two large paddlewheel steamers,
The Landrail, 5, screw, Commander Martin, went
out of Portsmouth harbour yesterday to Spithead
on the completion of her repairs. She is expected
to proceed to the West Indies, calling in at Ply-
mouth Sound on her way down Channel.
The Euryalus, 51, screw, Captain Tarleton, C. 8.,
is hourly expected at Spithead from the Cape. The
Fire Queen, paddle, Master-Commander Paul, has
received orders to proceed toSpithead immediately
on the frigate's arrival, or' the purpose of disem-
barking H.R.H. Prince Alfred and suite.
The Cygnet, 5, screw, at Portsmouth, shifted the
pitch of her Griffiths' propeller yesterday, and re-
sumed her experimental trials today. The Strom-
boli, 6, paddle, in the steam reserve at the same
port, will also test her boilers and machinery to-day
in Stokes Bay, on the completion of her repairs.
The Diadem, 32, screw, Captain Cockburn, has
been removed from No. 8 dock at Portsmouth, and
placed in the steam basin to complete her refit.
The Royal screw yacht Fairy was afterwards placed
in the same dock.

,
The harbour men-of-war at Portsmouth yester-
day struck their summer spars and sent up their
winter ones.

The Eagle, 50, sailing frigate, Commander Strode,
has nearly completed her outfit at Portsmouth as a
training ship for Southampton water.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Lieut. H. M. Miller, flag lieut.,
to the Impregnable ; Lieut. A. A. Hanson, to the
Centurion ; Lieut. Wm. H. Childers and Lieut. H.
Salmond to the Charybdis; Lieut. A. Williams to
the Firebrand ; G. Giles, master, to the Charybdis;
M. L. Bridger is nominated to a naval cadetship;
E. L. T;afford, midshipman, to the Royal Albert
R. A. Smith, A. R. Hewett, and V. E. J. B. von
Don:,p, midshipmen, to the Charybdis; F. Fore-
. . _

man, chief engineer, to the Cumberland, for charge
of the machinery of the Anson ; J. Churcher, chief
engineer, to the Emerald; J. Hood, promoted to the
rank of chief engineer, and appointed to the Asia,
for charge of the Medea; E. J. Giles, paymaster, to
the Charybdis; and J. Hay, assistant-paymaster
in charge, to the Porcupine.

FLAG PROMOTIONS.
By the death of Admiral the Right Hon. Thomas,
Earl of Dundonald, G.C.8., the appointment of
Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom, salary £342
95., and an admiral's good service pension, value
£3OO per annum, become vacant, and the following
promotions Will take place :
Admiral of the White Sir Lucius Curti; Bart.,
C. 8., to be Admiral of the Red.
Admiral of the Blue William Bowles, C. 8., to be
Admiral of the White.
Vice Admiral of the Red Sir Barrington Rey-
nolds, K.C.8., to be Admiral of the Blue.
Rey-
Vice Admiral of the -White Sir Arthur Fan-
Vic© K.C.8., to be Vice Admiral of the Red.
Vice Admiral of the Blue William Fanshawe
Martin, the commander-in-ehisf in the Mediter-
ranean, to be Vice Admiral of Ai white.
Rear Admiral of the Red Sir Michael Se
G.C.8., to be Vice Admiral of the Blue. • ymour,
Rear Admiral of the White Christopher Wyvill,
to be Rear Admiral of the Red.
Rear Admiral of the Blue Frederick Bullock, to
be Rear Admiral of the White.

Captain Thomas Matthew Charles Symonds, C. 13.,
to be Rear Admiral of the Blue.

The following promotion takes place on the re-
sorved half-pay list, the undermentioned officer
being senior to the vice admiral promoted on the
active list :

\ripe Admiral the lion. Alexander Jones, to be

Admiral.

The following officers on the retired list lir? also
entitled to promotion, in pursuance of her Majesty's
Order in Council of May 7,1858 :
Vice Admirals to be Admirals—George Hender-
son and Robert IVorgan George Festing, C.B.
The senior vice admiral now is Sir Augustus
W. J. Clifford, Bart., C.B. ; the senior rear admiral
is Sir Henry Byam Martin, K.C.8.; and the senior
captain next for promotion to flag rank is Thomas
Leeke Massie.
By promotion of Captain Symonds to flag
rank the
atoa ptain's good service pension reverts to the
pge or the First Lord of the Admiralty.

LIVERPOOL, TlitmsDAY.
At the Lancashire rifle contest yesterday, not-
withstanding the prevalence of a della! November
fog all ever the county, the attendance o F riflemen
and spectators was more numerous than on the pre-
vious days. The great object of attraction was
doubtless the shooting for the Lord-Lieutenant's
100-guinea cup, but the large number of entries for
the Benson and Mallett cup, valued at £l2 10s., is
a healthy sign that the volunteers do not regard
the money value of a prize only, the desire to make
a good score being evidently the paramount incen-
tive. The shooting commenced under very un-
favourable circumstances. A dense fog hung over
the ground, and the glimpses of the targets were
only spectral. "Bull's-eyes" were seldom or never
visible at a distance of 300 yards. Later on in the
day the fog became still more dense, and beyond 100
yards objects were very undistinguishable, This state
of the atmosphere necessitated the postponement of
the contest for the Lord-Lieutenant's prize, of which
only the first range was shot off, until the following
morning. The contest for the Benson and Mallett
cup was, however, decided. The remainder of the
day was occupied in shooting for sweepstakes, for
which a large number of riflemen entered, and ex-
hibited superior practice. The "Aunt Sallies" were,
so long as they could be distinguished, in full ope-
ration, one gentleman, said to be an Indian officer,
making beautiful practice with a Turner rifle. His
firing position was somewhat peculiar, but it pos-
sesses the virtue of perfect steadiness. You sit
down on the ground, support the barrel of the rifle
on the left arm, lay the left hand on the right arm,
and drawing up the legs towards the chin, rest the
butt of the rifle against the middle of the right
arm, supporting the toe of the butt, on the right
knee. This position is somewhat acrobatic, and
the performer appears to be carefully hushing his
weapon to sleep ; but when the rifle was brought
level with the object not a tremor could be noticed.
Bull's-eyes" or " Centres" generally rewarded
the rifleman's steadiness. Volunteers with " big
round bellies," it is advisable to say, need not at-
tempt this feat. In the course of the morning two
of the competing great guns were placed on the
shore ready for the contest on Saturday. The
closing proceedings of the day were painfully
marred by an accident from which Col. Gladstone
suffered severely. He had just leaped his horse
over a drain when the animal got its foot into a
rabbit hole, turned a somersault, and threw the
Colonel. In regaining its footing it placed one of
its hoofs on the Colonel's neck, inflicting a fearful
gash from the ear downwards. The Colonel was as-
sisted off the field, and a surgeon attached to- a
Cheshire Volunteer Corps being present, the wound
was stitched up. The Colonel, who was much
stunned and shaken, bore his sufferings with
great fortitude. A carriage being kindly placed at
his disposal by Major Blundell, of Crosby-hall, he
was conveyed in it to the station, and thence to
Liverpool by train. Great sympathy has been ex-
pressed for the sufferer, as he has always been highly
respected. Fortunately, Colonel Gladstone is a very
healthy "subject," or such an injury might go hard
with him. His absence from the ground will be a
source of regret to all the riflemen engaged in the
contest. The following was the result of the day's
work, which included only two events—first, a cup
or purse, value 100 guineas, presented by the Lord
Lieutenant of the county ; and the bronze medal of
the National Rifle Association, presented by that
body. Second Prize—A silver vase, value £2O,
presented by Mr. Henry Greenwood (being the pro-
ceeds of his Penny Programme and Plan of the
Reviews held at Aintree and Knowsley respectively).
Third Piize—A rifle, presented by Mr. Thomas
Turner, of Birmingham, to be competed for by Vo-
lunteers of the county. Distances, 300, 600, and
800 yards. Five shots at each range... Entrance,
ss. As has been already stated, only the short range
was shot off, when, on account of the fog, it was
found impossible to proceed with the contest, which
was adjourned till 10 o'clock this morning. The
other event was a cup, value 12 guineas, presented
by Messrs. Benson and Mallett, being the proceeds
of the sale of the " official card" at Knowsley; to
be competed for by any Volunteer whose corps was
present at the Knowsley Review. Distances, 200
and 300 yards. Five shots at each range. Entrance,
ss. For this there were 130 entries and 110 com-
petitors entered the lists. It was won by Thomas
Casson, 39th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, who
made a total score of 17, making 8 at the 200 and
9at the 300 yards' range. The competition could
scarcely be said to be keen, as the next highest score
was 13. At the short range there were 1 ten, 2
nines, 5 eights, 12 sevens, 10 sixes, 22 fives, 23 fours,
13 threes, 6 twos, 9 ones, and 2 nothings. At the
300 yards' range there were 1 nine, 4 sevens, 6
sixes, 10 fives, 18 fours, 16 threes, 19 twos, 14 ones,
and 15 nothings. The total score was 810, giving
an average of nearly 71 to each competitor.

Much emulation has been excited among the
Carabridge University Rifles during the past fort-
night, in consequence of the Vice-Chancellor of the
University, the Hon. and Rev. L. Neville, Master
of Magdalen College, having intimated his inten-
tion of presenting a silver cup to the member of the
corps proving himself the best marksman at vari-
ous distances. About 100 competitors presented
themselves, and arrangements for the competition
were made and carried out under the supervision
of Col.-Commandant Baker, Capt. Burn, and Rev.
J. F. Hardy, 8.D., of Sidney College, secretary.
In accordance with these regulations a trial match
was determined on, to decide the competency of
members to shoot for the cup, such competition to
be confined to those scoring 15 points in the preli-
minary trial. The result was the reduction of the
list to the following :-Ist Section—Shuttleworth,
Caius ; Piper, Trinity ; Hall, St. Peter's ; Great-
heed, Corpus; Pemell, Emmanuel ; Snowden,
John's ; Gurdon, Trinity ; Bros, John's ; Heath,
Trinity Hall; Hughes, Trinity Hall; King, Tri-
nity : Lee, Emmanuel; Clowes, Trinity; Clay, do.;
Wilson, P. W., do. ; Tarratt, do. 2d Section—Page,
John's ; M'Neile, Trinity ; Washington, do.; Shep-
herd, do. ; Vyvyan, Caius; Godfrey, John's; Storer,
Trinity Hall ; Steward, A. 11., John's; Taylor,
Queen's; Peterkin, Emmanuel; French, Trinity;
Dyson, do.; Buxton, do. ; Steward, P. F., do. ;
Leathern, do. The actual contest took place on the
rifle ground on the Mill-road, on Wednesday and
Thursday (yesterday), concluding between 4 and
in the evening on the latter day. There were four
distances, five rounds each, and the score for target
shots was one for the outer circle, two for the cen-
tre, and three for the bull's eye. The Vice-Chan-
cellor was present during the whole of the compe-
tition, and the general interest excited was evinced
by the attendance of numbers of the principal mem-
bers of the University, and the principal persons of
the neighbourhood, including a due proportion of
the fair sex. On Wednesday the firing was at the
two shorter, and on Thursday at the longer dis-
tances. The following are the eight principal scores:
Shuttleworth, Caius, 32 ; Hall, St. Peters, 32 ;
Gurdon, Trinity, 27 ; Heath, Trinity Hall, 28;
Lee, Emmanuel, 27 ; Storer, Trinity Hall, 27 ;
Peterkin, Emmanuel, 37; Buxton, Trinity, 33.
Mr. Peterkin was thus the winner. At the con-
clusion the competitors were paraded in front of
the Magazine, and the Vice-Chancellor proceeded
to the presentation of the cup, which was a chastely
elegant one, of the reputed value of 20 guineas.
The Vice-Chancellor said—" I wish to express the
great pleasure I have had in witnessing the late
trial of your merits which has resulted in the suc-
cess of your friend, and I have more pleasure in
doing this when I recollect the manner in which
the University Rifle Corps has been conducted
from its formation,
the and the readiness evinced by
every.
thie
t toconcur
. eed I
inthc w
authorities
member
of of
this opportunity pass without university
'
doing cannotshes lee tf
justice to the
merits of one whom you all h' ighly esteem, Col.
Baker, inasmuch as to the pains he has taken is due
the proficiency you have shown this day, To you,
Mr. Peterkin, I have much pleasure in presenting
this cup as a testimony of my own goodwill, and I
hope that in looking upon it in future years it will
incite you to perseverance in every honourable and
manly course." Mr. Peterkin, having bowed his
acknowledgments, received the cup and retired into
the ranks. The assembly then dispersed after three