The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-24 00:00:00

TILE Ni Vl'.

The screw steam storeship Supply, 2, Master
Commander William H. Balliston, from the Medi-
terranean, with antiquities and stores, arrived at
Plymouth yesterday, and was ordered to proceed to
Portsmouth.

The Termagant, 25, screw frigate, 310 horse-
power, was taken nut of Portsmouth harbour yes-
terday forenoon at• 11.30 by Captain G. T. Gordon
and the staff of the steam reserve under his com-
mand, to try a steering apparatus, the reputed im-
proVement of Vice Admiral W. F. Martin, the
Senior Naval Lord of the Admiralty. The follow-
ing officers went in the ship to observe and report
upon the application : Mr Tonkin, Assistant
Master Attendant of Portsmouth Dockyard; Mr.
Aylen, Master of Her Majesty's yacht Victoria and
Albert ; Mr. Bower, Master of the Admiralty yacht
Isberne ; Mr. Ball, Master of Her Majesty's ship
cannibal ; Mr. Abethel, Master Shipwright, and'
Moody, Assistant Master Shipwright, of
Portsmouth Dockyard. Rear-Admiral George
Augustus Eliott, late Captain of the. Ordinary at
Portsmouth, Captain Robert Harris, commanding
Her Majesty's ship Illustrious, and Mr. Jones, the
Queen's pilot, were also on board. After a cruise
of upwards of three hours, the Termagant returned
to harbour moorings. The improvement consists
of a yoke, with a cross lever attached to the head
of the rudder, with. other gear ; this does not do
away with the wheel now almost universal in all
ships, but can be connected with it if needful ; the
ship can also be steered on the lower deck by a
tiller, as usual in most ships. Admiral Martin's
invention is pronounced by the scientific officers
who tried it yesterday as a decided improvement
both in making the ship answer her helm quickly
and in ease of steering, while the danger of throw-
ing a man over by a sudden jerk of the old short
tiller is avoided.

The Falcon, 17, screw-sloop, is expected to hoist
the pendant at Portsmouth to•day.
The brig Childers, 12, Commander William
Swinburn, from the West Coast of Africa, which
arrived on the 10th inst. at Cork, and sailed there-
from on the 17th, put into Plymouth Sound on
Sunday, and on Monday morning wastaken in tow
by the steam-tug Zephyr, for Chatham, but ex-
perienced such strong easterly winds outside, that
she did not get beyond the Bolt Head, and was
obliged to put back to the Sound in the evening.
The brig was commissioned at Chatham on the 7th
of April, 1855, by Commander Hickley, who
was promoted on the Ist of April, after having
secured the respect and esteem of all the
ship's company. Commander) Swinburn was
promoted to the brig from the steamvessel Pluto, 4
The Childers has been chiefly employed cruising in
the North Division, and has not made any cap-
ture during her commission. When coming from
Cork on Friday evening she passed in the Channel
a paddlewheel steam sloop, supposed to be the
Virago, which left Plymouth in the afternoon to
relieve the homeward bound.
Commander Malachi Donellan, and Commander
William Henry Brand were yesterday promoted to
the reserve half-pay list of captains, vice Captains
Walker and Gill, deceased.

VieelAdmiral Wilson B. Bigland, K.H., whose
death has been announced aslhaving occurred at his
residence, 26, Lansdowne-terrace, Leamington, after
a few days' illness, in the 71st year of his age, was
midshipman of the Theseus at the capture of three
French frigates off Cape Francois, in 1803, and
served on shore at the attack on Curacoa, in 1804.

He was promoted to lieutenant March 5, 1808, and
served in the Pompee at the reduction of Mar-
tinique, and. in the Belleisle in the operations
against Flushing, when he acted as aide-de-camp
to Sir G. Cockburn. He served in the Implacable
at the defence of Cadiz in 1810-11, • and. flag-lieu-
tenant in the Sceptre and Marlborough ; and served
in all the important operations in the Chesapeake
and coasts of America, including the capture of
Hampton and boarding the Anaconda at Ocracroke.
He was promoted to commander June 15, 1814 ;
captain, March 6,1821 Iretired rear-admiral, March
8, 1852 ; and was placed on the list of additional
retired-vice-admirals, Oct. 2, 1857. Vice-Admiral
Bigland was a deputy.lieutenant for the county of
Lancashire ; was nominated Knight of the Royal
Hanoverian Ouelphic Order, Ruh 25, 1636; and