The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-11 00:00:00

2.11.101
1 16 I

FRUIT.

THE NAVY.

1 Commodore Yelverton's fleet of coastguard block-
ships, consisting of the Majestic, 80, Capt. William
R. Mends, C.B. ; Blenheim, 60, Capt. E. Tatham ;
Cornwallis, 60, Capt. George G. Randolph; Edin-
burgh, 60, Capt. Edwin C. T. D'Eyneourt ; Hawke,
60, Capt. William Crispin ; Hogue, 60, Capt. Re-
ginald S. J. G. Macdonald ; Russell, 60, Capt.
George Wodehouse ; Ajax, 60, Capt. John M. N.
Boyd ; and the screw steam-frigate Dauntless, 31,
Capt. Leopold G. Heath, C. 8., after being duly
inspected, as previously announced, by Admiral
Eden and Capt. Frederick, two of the Lords of the
Admiraly, left Portland harbour on Wednesday
and Thursday for their respective stations. The
Colossus, 80, Capt. F. Scott, C. 8., still bearing the
flag of Commodore Yelverton, remains at anchor in
that harbour, but is expected to leave for the Isle
of Wight in a day or two. The Biter gunboat,
tender to the Colossus, is also at Portland.
The following is an extract of a letter from a
gentleman connected with the naval expedition to
China, dated Hongkong, June 2, which says :--
" According to my promise, I send you a line re-
garding the expedition, and also enclose an amus-
ing piece of impertinence on the part of the
Celestial Canton merchants. All the gunboats
have arrived, making the passage from England in
about six months or so. The gunboat Bouncer
was exactly half a year and 50 minutes from Ply-
mouth, arriving without an accident of any kind.
The fleet is now about to start for the Peiho, and
by the 10th all those destined to witness and assist
in the destruction of the forts will have left. Four
.gunboats and a larger vessel remain to protect
Canton river, and I imagine that a larger military
force will be kept south than was expected, there
being some doubts, or rather suspicions, as to the
loyalty of the Cantonese. It is said that our allies
will not be ready for six weeks or so, which, if true,
will place them entirely in the background, for I do
not think the Admiral will wait. Talking of our
chief, be is, without exception, the best man
adapted for the work, being heave, clear-headed,
kind, very fair, and reserved, and, as everybody
knows, has no superior as regards bravery. With
this enormous fleet, the large transport department,
and sundry other duties, his place is very far from
a sinecure, and it is only a wonder to me how he
can do so well and give such universal satisfaction.
As to our success we have not the slightest doubt.
Most of the fleet have already started, and pro-
bably before the close of June our footing will
have been disputed. I imagine that the greater
share of the sea attack will be left to the gunboats,
as the large vessels will be unable to cross the bar ;
but on all these hEads I will give you further
intelligence when I am able to speak accu-
rately. The land force will, I believe, be
as follows :---English, 25,000 bayonets, with
artillery, 900 cavalry ; French, 9,000 bayonets ;
while the number of guns our fleet can muster
amounts to nearly 3,000, two-thirds of which will
probably be brought into play, as it is stated that
the crews of the larger vessels (which are unable to
cross the bar) will form a strong naval brigade
under the command of Lord John Hay. The Cam-
brian goes to Singapore as senior officer, in conse-
quence of Sir Robert M'Clure 'invaliding, and the
Sampson remains here. It is almost wonderful to
, relate that, considering the whole British force
has arrived, not a single casualty has occur-
red, not a vessel run ashore, not a boiler burst,
not an engine broken down, nor even a spar
been carried away ; an achievement that reflects
great credit on those connected with the transport

department and on the head of her Majesty's naval
service. The following bet has been offered and
taken :—‘ The Canton Cotton guild have offered to
bet 50,000 dols. the allied force will be repulsed at
the Peiho. They will not stake a smaller sum, and
are willing to deposit the amount in the bank on
the other side doing the same.' "
The screw steam Coastguard ships Ajax, 60,
Capt. John M. N. Boyd, and the Hogue, 60, Capt.
Reginald J. J. G. Macdonald, from Portland, ar-
rived in Plymouth Sound on Friday morning.
The screw steam Coastguard ship Majestic, 80,
Capt. William R. Mends, C. 8., left Plymouth
Sound on Friday for Liverpool.
The Torch, 5, screw gunvessel, Commander
Smith, tested her speed at the measured mile in
Stokes Bay on Wednesday, with the following re-
sult :—Draught of water forward, 12 feet 3 inches ;
aft, 10 feet 6 inches. Revolutions of engines, maxi-
mum, 94; mean, 95. Pressure of steam, 20 ;
vacuum, 25.5. Mean result of six runs, 8.843.
The Rinaldo, 17, screw, in the steam reserve, was
tried the same day, and the results were as follows:
—Draught of water aft, 12 feet 6 inches ; forward,
11 feet 3 inches. Revolutions of engines, maximum,
96.5 ; mean, 95.833. Pressure of steam, 20; vacuum,
25. Mean result of six runs, 11.781.
The Himalaya, screw troopship, Capt. J. Sec-
combe, sailed yesterday from Portsmouth for De-
vonport.
The sailing sloop Elk, 12, Commander H. Cam-
pion, which arrived in Plymouth Sound on Thursday
afternoon, as reported yesterday, landed there one
distressed British subject and five naval invalids
from the Australian station, and proceeded imme-
diately up Channel for Chatham, where her crew
will be paid off, and she will be dismantled. She
is in very good condition. The Elk was commis-
sioned in May, 1856, and continued in the China
Seas until September, 1858, when she sailed for
Australia. She departed from Auckland on the
21st of April, at which time the Iris, Pelorus,
Niger, and Cordelia were at New Zealand. Thirty
men belonging to the sloop, and four of her guns,
were left bhind to form a portion of the naval bri-
gade established there. Off Cape Horn, on June 8,
a very heavy gale from the eastward was experi-
enced. The Elk touched at St. Helena, July 1, and
spoke, July 8, lat. 2 31 S, long. 18 37 W, the Eng-
lish ship Floating Light ; July 10, lat. 1 22 N,
long. 23 55 W, the Spanish ship Julia, of Malaga,
and supplied her with 1,2001 b of bread and 2001 b.
of beef; and July 11, lit. 43 14 N, long. 23 53 W,
the French barque Heloise, from the Isle of Bour-
bon, 91 days, for Marseilles, which must discharge
to repair, and will assemble at Queenstown ; she
desired to be reported at Lloyd's.
The Royal Adelaide, 104, and the gunboats
Steady and Penguin, are refitting at Plymouth for
the second-class steam ordinary.
The artisans of Devonport dockyard have com-
menced coppering the bottom of the screw steam-
ship Howe, 121.
The hired transports Venilia, Capt. Page, and
the Eleanor, Capt. Findlay, moored alongside the
Royal Arsenal pier, Woolwich, yesterday com-
menced shipping, the former 750 tons and the latter
550 tons of hutting and other materials for the
Cape of Good Hope. The cargoes consist of ready-
prepared planks and timbers, 177 tons of flooring
bricks, 125 tons of slates for tanks, and other
materials for the erection of two immense hospi-
tals, supplied by Messrs. Myers, the contractors,
for the accommodation of invalid troops from
India. Another material portion of the stores
consists of balks of iron, plates, girders, &c., in
complete readiness for being put together for the
formation of a couple of huge cooking-houses for
the supply of the hospitals, the latter materials
having been manufactured by Messrs. Tupper and
Co., of Limehouse. The erection of the build-
ings will be performed by the artificers of Royal
Engineers stationed at the Cape, and who are
about to be reinforced by Lieut. Coles and a de-
tachment from Woolwich.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Commander John E. F.
Risk, to the Indus; Lieut. Mervyn B. Medlycott,
to the Royal Albert; Lieut. J. B. Scott, to com-
mand the Caradoc, vice Buckle, promoted; and
Thomas Scott, first-class assistant-engineer, for
,emporary service, to the Cumberland, for service
.n the Myrtle.