The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-29 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The following notice was issued from the Admiralty
yesterday
The third art;l foyirtli divisions of gunboats are now
assembling in Portland-roads."
The following officers have been appointed to the com-
mand of grinchliats.:--LLi.etit. B. T. Hamilton, to the
haughty • Lieut:..E. J. Pollard, to the Charon ; Lieut.
C. A. Campbell, to the Opossum,; Lieut. George
Rivington, to the Rambler ; Lieut. Reginald T. Clark,
to the _Decoy.
Her Majesty's steam-Ship Cressy, 81, . Captain R, L.
Warren, arrived at Spithead from the Nure yesterday;
and joined the fleet.
Toe Arrogant, 47, Captain Lyster, got under way yes-
terday morning at Spithead to try her speed, it is sup-
posed, prior to following Captain Watson's advanced
qu ron .
The Lapwing, 8; screw gun-boat, was taken out of
dock at Portsmouth yesterday ; and the Forward an
Beaver gun-boats were taken in for repairs.
The Rliadaniaothus steam-transport arrived at Ports-
mouth yesterday, with Machinery, from Woolwich.
The Charity steam-transport arrived at Spithead on
Wednesday night from the East. She towel the Great
Tasmania sailing hospital-transport to Gibraltar, and
left that place on the 18tli for Spithead, having encoun-
tered during the spa.ssage heavy gales from N.W. and
N.E.

The peddle-wheel steam-ship Scourge, 6, went from
Plymouth Sound into Harnoaze on Wednesday, to be
ducked at Keybarn and have (I,:fects made good.
The crew of the screw steam-ship Desperate, 8, Com-
mander Richard D. Wh'kte, got up steam at Devonport
on Tuesday, to try her engines and boilers. She will be
taken out of the" basin dock at Keyham to-day.
The engineers employed on the paddle-wheel steam-
sloop Virago, 6, at Keyharo, are working from 6 lean.
to 10 p.m. to expedite her completion for service.
The screw steam-ship Sanepareil, 72, Captain A. C.
Key, sailed from PlymoUth fur the eastward yesterday,
with the gun-boats Skipjack, Sheldrake, Redwing, Lark,
Magpie, and Badger.
The gunboats Rambler and Decoy, from Pembroke,
in tow of the paddlewheel steam-veseele Avon and Pros-
pero' arrived at Plymouth on Wednesday, and went
intoHainoaze to be fitted immediately.
The gull-heats Ant and Angler, being built in Devon-
port deckyarl, received the first portions of their engines
and boilers on Wed, esil4.
Commander C; P. Coles has been . promoted to the
rank of Captain, and Veut. C. W. Buckley to the rank
of Commander—both to bear date the 27th inst.
The annexed appointments have been made :—Corn•
mender G. F. Burgess, to the Stromboli, vice Coles
Commander J. • E. Commerel!, to the Snake, vice Buck-
ley ; Commander J. W. Douglas. to the Perseverance,
vice Crang ; Commander J. N. T. Saulez, to the Ring-
dove; Commander W. Bowden, to the Cormorant ;
Commander J. A. nada, 'to the Waterloo ; Lieut.
F. J. Protherne 'Urgent ; J. T. Bussed, master,
to command the •Resistance, vice Hall James a H.
Main, master, to the Conqueror ; T. Bouchier, master
(confirmed); J. W. M. Hall, master, to the Sappho ;
B. D. Connor, second limiter, to the Ringdove ; H. L.
Kelly, second master, to the Cormorant; J. Millard,
master's assistant, to the Medina ; C. Barth wick, acting
mate, to the Sipplio ; C. E. Pearse and C. A. Watts,
midshipmen, to the Devastation ; L. F. B. Cary, mid-
shipman, to the London ; R. H. D. King, midshipman,
to the Arrogant ;W. H. Standbridge, assistant-
paymaster (in charge), to the Cormorant ; C. J. Card,
assistant pa.yrnaster (in charge), to the Ringdove ; E.W.
Gordon, assistant-paymaster (in charge), to the Rhoda-
manthus ; F. Oliver, assistant paymaster, to the Sans-
pareil ; J. River, assistant-paymaster, to the Magi-
cienne ; A. B. C•x, assistant-elerk, to the Desperate.
Yesterday a numb' r of wounded non-commissioned
officers arid privates who have been invalided home from
the regiments in the Crimea were discharged from St.
Mary's invalid barracks, Chatham, by seeeial order of a
Chelse'a board held for that purpose. The whole of
those discharged had been granted pensions varying
from Gd. to 2s. 6d. a . day, according to the nature of
their wounds and their period of service.
A detachment of the Royal Marine Light Tafantry is
under orders to embark atChatham on board the Sparrow-
hawk, Captain S. Gurney Cresswell, fitting,for the Baltic.
It is understood to be the intention of the Government
to form a large camp
on. Penenden-heath, near Maid-
stone, capable of accommodating 20,000 troops, both
cavalry and infantry. The formation Of the camp will
be commenced this spring, and it is expected that the
troops will occupy it during the. summer.

THE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE.-THE
NEW MILITARY COMMISSION.

A Committee of the House of Commons, of which onc-
half of the members were appointed by those, indirectly,
who were most desirous to shield from blame those
whose conduct was directly impeached, sat last session
on the state of affairs in the Crimea. So damning,
however, were the facts unavoidably elicited from un-
willing witnesses, selected so' as to give the fairest pos-
sible colouring to every occurrence, that every accusa-
tion was most fully substantiated, even although leading
questions were avoided, nor any one point fully investi-
gated.
An unexampled mystification wag, however, carried
out. The report proposed by the Chairman, of which
not one syllable could be controverted, or even ques-
tioned was rejected,"and that which, as far as was prac-
ticable, without a dereliction of truth, screened the
noble culprits from public indignation, and was penned
by their noble brother,—was adopted.
Thus passed the first act of the inquest on 10,000
Britjsh heroes. The fraud was, however, too palpable.
The people felt that their representatives were insulted
by a gross mockery, and the interests and reputation
of the nation, and of the army, sacrificed to a few
minions of unmerited power,' rank, and place.
Falsely calculating that the contamination of public
employment rendered every man enjoying it a servile
tool, two Commissioners were sent to the Crimea, whose'
Report, it was hoped, would be such as to appease the
universal dissatisfaction.

They, however, freed from the atmosphere of Parlia-
ment-street, amid the purer air of the East, acted with
that noble British spirit which, with very few excep-
tions too well known and despised, all their countrymen
have there evinced.

There is such an obvious reason in confounding the
statement of ascertained facts with accusations, that it
cannot be unintentional.

Let every judge beware, if his decision, based on evi•
deuce, is to be investigated by a secret and irresponsible
tribunal. What magistrate, coroner, or justice of the
peace can act under such a system ? If the secret tri•
busal absolves, the judge is held to have unjustly stand-
&red.

The people ask, provided this extraordinary tribunal
does not contrive to whitewash the accused, what fol-
lows ? Are they to be tried for their misdeeds ? How
many investigations preceded the trials of Whitelocke,
Paliser, Sir J. Murray—of every naval officer, whose
ship has been run aground or lost—•and of the unfortu-
nate Byng ?

Has the late management of our forces in the Crimea
been the habitual and applauded syftem of the British
Government and army ? The actors in it are placed in
those higher post: in which they can more fully follow
out the same principles and acts throughout the whole
of Vow British forces and empire.
As the principal actors in the fatal tragedy—the
death of so many thousands, and of British reputation,
for all but physical valour and endurance—are kept so
prominently before the eyes of the public and of the
world, and as the loss of our prestige must either be
borne by them especially, together with some other in-
dividuals, to, whom we confided the conduct of our
affairs,—it becomes the duty of the Press to learn from
experienced officers, as we have done, what the beha-
viour of our leaders really has been in the field.
Will the soi-disant maligned Peers reply to the fol-
lowing queries ?

Was it, or was it not, the duty of Lord Doan, before
ortleriag tie charge by so very considerable a part of bis
cavalry, to ascertain by personal inspection whether
the ground, the relative strength, and the formation of
the enemy, were such as to afford such a probability or
possibility of success as justified the attempt ?
Did he, or did he nct, duly perform that duty ?
If Lord Lucas), his chief, did not,
.in view of the ac-
tual state of tke enemy at that moment, distinctly and
decidedly order that charge, does Lord Cardigan con-
ceive that he was justified in executing it when any
favourable result was obviously impossible ?
Did he, or did he not, remain with the wreck of the
force under his command to rescue theta as speedily as
possible from unnecessary danger ?
Was he, or was he not —the captain of a vessel—the
last to quit it when sinking or stranded, after making
every effort to withdraw and to save every individual of
its crew ?

High military authority ha 3 commented on that dis-
aster. They coincide in substance—our chivalrous,
polite Ally, :end our blunt, free-spoken foe—" C'est so-
perbe ;" " You are An army of lions"-inais cc n'est pas
la guerre," " led ou by asses." What says the world
in general ? Our humorous contemporary Punch, adorns
the Russian General's simile with the choicest floweis—
emblems of the justice of his remark, and of our indi-
vidual wit and public discernment and justice.—Morn-
ing Advertiser: •

TILE ALMGED ATTEMPTED MURDER
AND ROBBERY AT TVALWORTH.

EXTRAORDINARY CONFESSION OF THE
SERVANT.
On. Monday last a very startling and alarming account
appeared in the different papers of a robbery com-
mitted at the house. of Mr. Kcott, a gentleman resid-
ing at Sutherland-square, Walwortii, and an attempt at
murder by the thieves. The paragraph went on to state
that, about six o'clock on Sunday evening, and Mrs.
Knott and their family left their residence to attend the
evening service at a neighbouring church, leaving their
servant (Lucy Constable) in charge of the house. On their
return home the family found the house surrounded by a
large crowd of persons,, and, on entering, they discovered
the servant with one wound on her hand and another in
her throat. She was enabled, however, to state that very
soon Lifter her master and mistress .had left the house,
three men had effected an entrance by means of skeletoe
keys, and commenced phitederieg it. ,She ezideavonred to
'prevent then:), and, while doing so, the ruffians inflicted,
a wound, first on the beck part of her, hand, and next a
wound on her throat. The state of disorder which the
house presented favoured the truth of the young woman's.
statement, and in the state she was 41 it was deemed'
necessary to remove her to St. Thomas's Hospital, and she
was taken there in scab. The alleged robberyand violence
was of so startling a character, that Mr. Lund, the sp.'
perintendent of police for the district, felt it necessary to
investigate the einem-Silences himself, and in this he was
aleitted by one of his serjeants, Coppin, 15 P. On ques-,
tinning the young woman Constable on the subject, I",t.
Lund found that there was a.discrepancy betwee, the
version she gave him and that which she related on the
return of her masterand family. The versie,a which she
gave him (Mr. Lund) and C )ppin was this
—That „ex)
after the family went out she
.heard A ring at the bell,
and on going up to see who it R
-as the door flew open,
three men eetered, and one 'et them threw a coat, or
something like it, over her, need, an/ also placed some-
thini, like a 'plaster over ;ahr mouth. He then gave her
a violent blow on the Bead, forced her down the kitchen
steps, and as she reaclied the bottom he gave her a
second blow wle.teli rendered her insensible. Uu recover-
ing, she said"- You villains, you are murdering me," and
at this tines) she saw one of the men approaching her with
a table knife in his hand, and which to held up in a me•
racing manner towards her. .She threw up her hand to
sate her neck and face, and in this way it was that she.
received the cut on the hand. The man also drew the
knife across her throat, and she instantly felt the blood
trickle down her bosom. She recollected nothing after
this until she found herself alone in the kitchen, and she
instantly rushed to the front door, which she found
closed, Opened, it, and gave the alarm. When asked
who the men were to whom she had been seen to speak
to at her master's gate and other places in the neighbour.
hood within the fortnight before, she positively denied
having spoken to a single individual. This denial tole-
deer with the fact of her having stated that the front door
was closed when she went to give the alarm, satisfied
the officers of her participation in the robbery. Their
opinion on this point received additional confirmation
by the strong impression on their mind that- the wound
in the throat had been done by the young woman her-
self, though the medical officers at St. Thomas's Hos-
pital were of a contrary opinion,
Yesterday, Sergeant Coppin called at the hospital, and
the young woman, Constable, on seeing him approach
her bed, burst into tears and said she should tell the
truth respe'cting the affair. Sho then said she had made
the acquaintance of a young man who, with a fkiend of
his, had called on list- on two previous Sunday even-
ings, during the absence of the family, at church. Last
Sunday eveninhe again came by appointment, and being
alone, she asked bins where his friend was, and he re-
plied that he was with his young woman, "a stunning
fine girl." She then left him in the parlour while she
went upstairs to dress, and on coming down they left
the house togetheie The young man then took her to a
publie-house,where, he said, he expected to see his sister,
.and there they had a glass of brandy, and conversed with
several, persons there ; but as the time for the return of
the family approached, she returned home. The young
man accompanied her to the end of the Street, where he
took leave of her, and went in a.n opposite direction. On
reaching her master's house shrs found the front door open
and ajar, with a skeleton key in the lock, which stuck so
fast that it could not be removed. She hurried into the
house, and finding that it,bad been Tobbed, she took up
a knife, and enigged the back of her hand with it, to
"make believe" that the thieves did it while she was re-
sistieg them. Bhe did not, think this enough, and then,
taking up the knife a sersond time, drew it across her
throat. Coppin endeav oured. to get from her a descrip-
tion of the party she I,,ad mentioned, but she could not,
er would net, give the :?lightest information on the Sub-
ject ; so that, thoughethere is no doubt of her being
brought to justice he reelf for the offence, there is every
probability of the tl.,ieveiescapin& Coppin diretted that
the self-Wounding.
'patient shouldb.e closel watched, and
as
soon
it is as s
su he
pps. i -
osmlfficientty • re2overed to be removed,
w,*td, will be iu the course of a week nr
10 days, 7hea, -she will be taken before a magistrate,

THE Po§7 '-OFFICEW OF DUBL__ IN „,AND EDINI3URGH.
Certain .plai {s. for r9modellink the Dublin and Edinburgh
Postutficeii , submitted to the Treaary last year were,
on the sth •of April, 1855, approved and adopted by the
Lords of Um Treasurji.'. .The arrangements were calcu-
lated to perornoto the efficiency of the service, and to
afford the-officers a fair and reasonable remuneration.
They refer 'exclusively N matters of detail.
11-10 G ,i3luiN AT ROLYHEAD.—:Iti answer to a memorial
from the Toiverpool Steain-ship Association, the Marice
Department' of the 13(vard 'of Trade have ordered two
24-pound, 'tins to be placed on the South Stack Rock,
at Holyhea d, which ',re to be fired every half hour in
quick succession in foggy weather. Due notice will be
given
.when tiJe glint; are ready for use.
In a conw.ication, held yesterday, at Oxica(l,. the de-
gree&of Baribelor q.Pivinity aplt.l.)aatorjoi `..n-i\t.inititi by
diptdrearwfireaferred 09.4110 Hon. anqße. IL Mon-
tague Villiers.,-11;,A.; foimattfiiitident of Christ Cturcf-,
Bishop Meet of Ch4lible.