The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-30 00:00:00

,IHE 2VAVY.

The Duke of Somerset, as First Lord of the Ad.
miralty, held a levee at the Admiralty, at which
the following officers attended :—Admirals Lord
Wm. Russell and APHardy ; Captains J. Adams,
C. P. Hamilton, J. Hudson, W. H. Hall, G.
Haworth, Hon. R. Moreton, W. C. Chamberlain,
A. Heseltine, and Boyd ; Commanders J. W. Dor-
vale, H. B. Wratislaw, N. B. Bedingfield, H. C.
Glynn, W. Greet, W. Swinburne, C. Bromley, H.
Crease, C. J. Balfour, A. M. S. Lyons, and W.
Hooton ; Lieuts. E. G. F. Knowles, C. 0. H. P.
St. John, G. Marriott, and A. M. Noad : and Dr.

The guns of the screw steamship Conqueror, at
Plymouth, have been transported forward, by which
arrangement it is hoped that the leak aft may be
stopped, without placing her in dock.
The crew of the sailing sloop Arachne, 18, at
Plymouth, were paid off on Wednesday.
It is reported at Plymouth that the Albion, 90,
is to be converted into a screw. _ _

The Vulture, 6, paddle, Capt. George Parker, ar-
rived at Spithead yesterday afternoon from Gib-
raltar,
whence she sailed on the 21st inst., at 10
p.m. She has brought home several military and
naval officers as passengers from Gibraltar, among
whom are Mr. Cartwright, late paymaster of her
Majesty's surveying vessel Tartarus; Mr. Bell, late
chief engineer of her Majesty's steamer St. Jean
D'Acre; three military officers on private leave ;
also 110 naval supernumeraries and invalids from
Malta and Gibraltar, including the crew of lfhe
Tartarus, recently paid off at Malta, and a small
number of military invalids, &c., from Gib-
raltar. The news brought home by • the
Vulture has been anticipated by the arrival of !
the Peninsular and Oriental Company's mail
steamer Delta, at Southampton, which vessel left
the Rock on the morning succeeding the departure
of the Vulture. The supernumeraries and invalids
were conveyed into harbour by steam-tug soon after
the vessel arrived, and signal made from the flag-
ship to prepare to take out powder and shell. It
was consequently expected the Vulture would go
into Portsmouth harbour, to strip and pay off, but
no positive orders on this point had been received.
She brings home'a small mail bag from her Majes-
ty's ship Agamemnon, and has experienced fine
weather during her passage home.
The Victory, 104, flagship of the Commander-in-
Chief at Portsmouth, Admiral H. W. Bruce, toge-
ther with the other ships in Portsmouth harbour,
have sent up their topmasts, &c., for the summer.
The Nautilus and Sealark exercising brigs, at
Portsmouth, have bent sails, in readiness to go out
of harbour and commence their summer cruising.
Tide indicators are being erected at different
points in Portsmouth dockyard, which will be set
each day, announcing the time of high-water.
The Supply, screw store vessel, Master-Corn-
mander Balliston, has sailed from Spithead for
Woolwich.

The chartered East India troopship Marlborough
arrived at Gravesend yesterday, from Calcutta, with
215 troops on board, belonging to most of the cavalry
and infantry regiments serving in India, the whole
number consisting of men who have completed the
term of service for which they enlisted, and are sent
home to receive their discharge. The Marlborough
has been 117 days on the passage,
,and during the
voyage met with some very severe weather. There
has been comparatively little sickness on board, and
only two deaths occurred during the passage. A
portion of the troops, to the number of 58 men, were
disembarked yesterday afternoon, and forwarded to
the invalid establishment at Chatham, the remainder
being detained at Gravesend to be forwarded to their
respective depots, the whole of them being consi-
dered fit for further service. The men will thus
have the opportunity given them of re-enlisting,
but should they decline to do so, they will receive
their discharge at their depots.
The danger signal (a blue and white triangular
flag), which it has been the custom hitherto to hoist
from the staff of the semaphore in Portsmouth
dockyard when blowing heavily, as a signal forbid-
ding all communication by boats between her
Majesty's ships at Spithead and the shore, with a
view to prevent accidents and a consequent loss of
life, is ordered, for the future, to be changed for a
square flag of a more marked and distinctive cha-
racter, it having been urged that, with the wind
blowing from a certain quarter, together with the
shape of the flag and its colour, it could not be
plainly made out from ships at anchor at Spithead,
and was not seen on the occasion of the recent un-
fortunate accident to the boat of her Majesty's ship
Firebrand.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieutenant St. Vincent'
Lake, to the Excellent ; Lieut. John A. Vanrenen,
additional, to the Forte, for disposal at the Cape of
Good Hope station ; Dr. D. G. Miller, staff
surgeon, to the Orion ; Jas. S. Whitney, assistant-
surgeon to the Chesapeake ; Robert N. Stephens,
and Allen C. Bellamy, master's assistants, Con-
queror; Arthur G. St. G. Ponsonby, Master's
assistant, to the Nile; Henry A. Eastbee and John
Browne, master's assistants, to the Megzera ; Henry
Smith, master's assistant, to the Forte ; Francis
Darbishire, master's assistant, to the Royal Albert ;
Richard F. Bellis, master's a ssistant, to the Edgar;
Thomas V. Forte, master's .issistant, to the Marl-
borough; and George Hickman, 'paymaster, to the
Pearl.