The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-05 00:00:00

The Louisa gunboat, tender to the Edinburgh,
and the Ruby gunboat, tender to the Cornwallis,
have completed their fitment- at Sheerness., and
were put out of No. 1 dry dock on Saturday last.
The Fly and the Carnation steam gunboats have
been taken into No. 1 dry dock at Sheerness, to
be fitted for the Ist division of the steam reserve.
The Majestic, 80 guns, screw steamship, and the
Meanee, 80 guns, screw Steamship, are both being
brought forward for commission in the fitting basin
at Sheerness. _ .

The Terrible, 21 guns, paddlewheel steam frigate,
has her machinery completed, and is ordered to be
ready by the latter end of the present month.
The Magnet steam gunboat, tender to the Pem-
broke, is being fitted in No. 5 dry dock at Sheer-
ness. The Alacrity steam gunvessel is undergoing
repairs (making good damage r(c,,ived while on
shore), in No. 4 dry dock, at Sheernes?.
The Edinburgh, 60 guns, screw steam guardship
of Coast-guard, Capt. the Hon.Swynfea Carnegie
at Sheerness, is reported to be ready to leave that
place for Leith on the 10th inst.
The new screw steam corvette Clio, of 21 guns,
being built at Sheerness, will shortly be ready for
launehing.
The new screw steam corvette Scout, 21 guns,
recently ordered to be prepared for the pendant, is
rigged all-ataut in-the fitting basin at Sheerness.
An Admiralty order has arrived at Sheerness
yard for the pay of all the established riggers to be
permanently increased 3d. per day, to commence
on the Ist inst., and their superannuation in future
is to rate with ropemakers and sailmakers'—viz.,
from 201. to 241. per annum.
The following new war steamers are ordered to
be laid down at Chatham Dockyard as soon as those
vessels which are now on the stocks and nearly
completed are launched viz.—Bulwark, 91 ; Un-
daunted, 50; Orpheuq, 22 ; Rattlesnake, 22 ; and
Reindeer, 16. In addition to the Hero, 91, the
Hood, 80 the Mersey, 40, and the Charybdis, 22,
will be launched at Chatham during the present
summer.
Commander Victor G. Hickley has been pro-
moted to the rank of captain; Lieut. W. Swinburn,
Lieut. W. H. Whyte, and Lieut. James Carter
Campbell have been promoted to the rank of
commander.

In .our " Military and Naval Intelligence" of
Wednesday's date the sailing of ,he Abeona, with
dr4ughts for our troops in the East, is reported as
"under the medical charge of S•aff Assistant-
Surgeful Slatter." It should have been "Arthur
Salter," 61st Regiment.

EXECUTION OF JOSEPH SHEPHERD,

AT P,RK.

Joseph Shepherd, the murderer of Bethel Park.
inson, on Wadsworth Moor, near Halifax, under
went the extreme penalty of the law on Saturday
at noon.
The culprit was visited on Friday night by the
Rev. J. Parkes, who arrived at the condemned
cell at 11 o'clock, and remained with the wretched
man until 5 o'clock on Saturday morning. Shep-
herd, if it be possible, was more hardened than ever,
for when the rev. gentleman conversed with him
upon the concerns of his soul, and offered up prayer
iu his behalf, lie laughed aloud. Mr. Parkes re-
monstrated with the culprit, but all his efforts were
of no avail. He told the prisoner that he could not
expect happiness and rest in the next world if he
acted in that manner, upon which he remarked,
with a smile, " If there's no rest for me in the next
world, I might as well have as much rest here while
I stop," anti then laid himself down on his bed.
Several times during the night he re-asserted his
innocence. He slept at intervals, and at four
o'clock he went into a sounder sleep than usual.
Mr. Noble, the governor, also visited the un-
hapyy man, and in the course of conversation he
told him that if he died in his present state, and
did not repent ef his sins, ho would surely go to
hell. The culprit answered, "Never, I shall be
all right in the snowy weather ; I shall be right
during one half-year, when the weather's cold."
The culprit also made a similar observation to Mr.
Green, the deputy-governor.
Shepherd was removed from the condemned cell
to a room on the opposite side of the Castle-yard,
and adjoining the so tffold, at about six o'clock in
the morning. When the officers were ready to con-
duct him, the culprit walked away quietly, his
nerves were unshaken, and he appeared determined
to meer his fate with perfect coolness, and to retain
his self-possession and fortitude to the last. On
coming through the office, in which there is a
clock, Shepherd looked at it, and observed the
li tie pointer at six, remarked, " When that gets
to the top I shall be done for ; it will be all over
then." On dressing himself ho was full of joke
and fun. When the officers of the prison were
conducting him across the castle yard he was in
high glee, and laughed as before. He looked at
Clifford's Tower, and said, " That's the old tower,
I suppose."
Since his trial the culprit had never been heard
to utter a word of prayer, and his conduct through-
out had been of the most callous character. When
he arrived in the apartment adjoining the scaffold,
he threatened that when be was on the drop, if he
had the chance, he would " knock Jack Ketch
over," The culprit, since his condemnation, had
expressed a wish that he could obtain arsenic and
poison himself, and had said that he deserved to
be hanged, although he did not murder Parkinson,
still maintaining his asseveration of innocence.
During the 25 years that Mr. Noble has been at
York Castle, he has known about 20 men suffer
death on the scaffold, but in all his experience he
never met with a m in Hee Shepherd, so hardened,
so callous, anti so lost to all sense of religion.
The Under-Sheriff (William Gray, D'q.), arrived
at the Castle at a quarter to 12 ; and at 12 .he
procession made its appearance on the scaffold,
Shepherd being attended by the Rev. Mr. Parkes
and the gaol officials. He was held by Mr. Greenl
the under-keeper, until the executioner completed
his arrangements, and repeated two-orthree tnrvell
" Lord, have mercy on me," after which ttuncll ed
was withdrawn, and the unhappy n'an fi short
into eternity. lie btruggled veryvimucevreather was
time. He made no confessi.on.i
aed there were
fine, the sun shining brillianot
-present, many of
from 10,000 to 15,000 Pers°l d from
the neigh-
whom were from the country
bourhood of Halifax.

-----=-----
g TRUE n Sunday last,
m ropress of the French were taaing an
the Emperor and t d
Esevosio- , IN .---._,
. GREAT.
p at the door of a small wine
airing,
nresne ; a servant
shop, near S
hungry,
was sent to say that the
f1ip,...9 wag and wanted a piece of bi•ead • a
loaf of dry bread was brought out '
to the carriage,
long
13-j:sties had broken off a small
pa
in:le
ea,f c: rii eaapeohiciiorfar itahyeeiarse :
given .
in-
paynaent.—Letter frora
Para.