The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-19 00:00:00

defect in the welding of the coil, although invisible
to the eye, but afterwards proved to exist. Further
trials have been made on large guns and rifle har-
rels with equally satisfactory results, and the experi-
ments will be continued next week.

The steam screw frigate Termagant, 1,547 tons,
340 horse power, sold by the Admiralty to Messrs.
Castle and Beach, of Vauxhall, left Portsmouth
harbour yesterday in tow of Messrs. Watkins's
steamtug Anglia, for the Thames.
Her Majesty's ships Royal Oak and Prince Con-
sort hare been directed to join Admiral Warden's
squadron at Lisbon, and are expected there on the
22d inst.

Mr. Scamp, deputy director of Admiralty works, is
now on a final visit of inspection of the Admiralty
works at Portsmouth, as being carried into effect
according to his great scheme for the extension of
Portsmouth dockyard and for the construction of
the headquarters barracks, &c., for the Roy al Marine
Artillery at Eastncy. It is rumoured that Mr.
Scamp has applied to the Admiralty to be relieved
of the duties of the office which he has now filled
for the last 30 years. The works designed by him
and executed under his superintendence at all our
home naval establishments, andwat Malta, Gibraltar,
and Bermuda, are of a very extensive, varied, and
interesting character, and remain a worthy subject
for future description and comment.
A committee, of which Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas
M. C. Symonds, K.C.8., is the president, has been
appointed by the Admiralty, and is expected to
commence its investigations at Chatham to-day, for
the purpose of considering and reporting upon the
best method of economising the expenditure in the
transport department of the Navy, more especially
in reference to the employment of dockyard trans-
ports and craft in conveying stores from one yard
to the other. The principal object of the commit-
tee will be to ascertain whether or not a saving to
the country will arise by transporting stores from
one dockyard to another by means of railways or
private vessels, in preference to the Admiralty keep-
ing up an expensive fleet of dockyard lighters and
vessels, with their attendant officers and crews, for
this exclusive service.

The large iron caisson at the entrance to the
third dock at Chatham dockyard—the first ever
constructed at that establishment—having been
completed and fitted in its place, the work of re-
moving the massive coffer-dam, erected some months
since at considerable expense, will be at once pro-
ceeded with. The new iron caisson, which has
been constructed in the most expeditious manner,
is a fine specimen of dockyard workmanship, and
when tested with 140 tons of iron ballast and
the required quantity of water it was found
to be in all respects perfect. The only wooden cais-
son at Chatham yard burst a short time since, and
this is ordered to be replaced by an iron one, which
is to be constructed at a private yard, the Admiralty
having determined on getting rid of the whole of
the wooden caissons at all the dockyards.
The following appointments have been made at
the Admiralty :_Commander W. A. de V. Brown-
low to be resident officer for transport service at

Deptford, vice Commander St. Leger Aldworth,
whose period of service has expired; Commander H.
G. Belson to be inspecting commander in the Coast-
guard, vice Brownlow ; Lieut. A. 11. Duthie to the
Cumberland ; Navigating Sub Lieut. J. Henderson
to the Skylark ; Navigating Sub Lieut. Henry A.
Eusther to the Formidable, for service in the Lizard ;
Navigating Sub Lieut. R. W. Stephens to the Mino-
taur ; Navigating Sub Lieut. H. Husbands to the
Ganges, for service in the Liberty ; Navigating Sub
Lieut. N. Child to the Caradoc ; Navigating Sub
Lieut. W. Way to the Dasher ; Navigating Sub
Lieut. F. Hire to the Heron ; Navigating Sub
Lieut. W. B. Meade to the Orontes; F. M. Rayner,
staff surgeon, to the Victory ; and John Donald,
paymaster, to the Wellesley.

UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.

OXFORD, Oct. 15.

Th 3 Margaret Professor of Divinity (Dr. Heart-
ley) proposes to begin his lectures on Tuesday, the
20th of October, at 12 o'cljck. He will lecture on
the Creed and ou the Thirty-nine Articles. Gen-
tlemen who wish to attend the course are re-
quested to call upon him at Christ Church' on
Monday, the 28th of October, between the hours of
11 and 1.

The Regius Professor of Modern History (Mr.
Stubbs) proposes to give two courses of lectures
during the present term on " The Constitutional
History of England ;" each course to consist of 12
lectures. The first course will bo given on Tues-
days and Saturdays, at 11 a.m., at the Taylor In-
stitution on " The Early Constitutional History
down to the reign of Henry H." The second
course (in continuation of that of last term)
will be given on Tuesdays and Saturdays, at 12
o'clock, at the Taylor Institution on " The Con-
stitutional History of the Reigns of Edward 1.,
Edward 11., and Edward III." These lectures are
open to all Undergraduates and Bachelors of Arts,
on the payment of £l, the statutable feo in all
cases except where the student has attended two
previous courses under the same professor. Gen-
tlemen who propose to attend either course are re-
quested to call on the Professor at the Taylor Insti-
tution, at 2 p.m., on Saturday, the 26th of Octo-
ber. The lectures will begin on the 29th.
The teacher of the German language in the Tay-
lor Institution will lecture this term on Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays, beginning on Tuesday,
the 22d of October, at 2 o'clock p.m. He also
proposes to form a class for those sufficiently ad-
vanced in German to study Danish-Norwegian and
Swedish, in ord3r to illustrate the connection be-
tween these languages and the German and
English.
The teacher of the Spanish language in the Tay-
lor Institution will begin his lectures for this term
on Monday, the 21st of October.

Wheat Crop Speculation.

(From Land and Water.)

Judging from the reports from the other side of
the Atlantic of the American corn trade, our cousins
must have suffere 1 as we did from the miserable
speculations of travelling land agents, and in like
manner as the " Britishers" were told during har-
vest-time that " Cornwall was very hilly," and
that benighted farmers had a splendid crop,
so possibly Yankee travellers by rail may have
written to the Miles to say that Niagara
was a waterfall, and that the American wheat
crop would whip the world. Compare with
this extravagant and exaggerate I estimate the fol-
lowing extract :—" The advices from America state
that in that country, as on this side, disappointment
is experienced from the yield of the wheat crop,
since it threshes out poorly in comparison with the
estimates previously entertained. Many of the
Western farmers, therefore, instead of sending their
stocks rapidly forward, were holding out for
higher rates." Elsewhere we read of a " further
rise" having taken place at New York, and how it
has already been found out that the first reports of
extra abundance were exaggerated. However,
this last statement causes no surprise, for it is
well known that the Americans are ever apt to
take a sanguine view of their prospects—it is a way
they have : so one always receives with some cau-
tion their first reports. For the egregious blunders
of those wiseacres who thought fit to publish " re-
ports" upon the English harvest, reports founded
upon the " baseless fabric of a dreamy" journey by
rail, there is no excuse whatever. Utterly regardless
of the effect which might be produce I by a seem-
ingly authentic statement of our future supplies of
food, those gentlemen appear to have been actuated
by a wish to see themselves in print, forgetting
that above all things it is imperative to be accu-
rate before committing oneself to " black and
white ;" for litera scripta manet. What can be
their feelings now ? The northern counties have
concluded harvest, and even where to the practised
eye of the farmer, the man who obtains his liveli-
hood by farming, there had been a prospect of
average crops, the crucial test of threshing has re-
vealed an opposite result, the yield being unsatis-
factory. Throughout the south of England the
same unpleasant state of things bad already been
made manifest ; and it is difficult to reconcile the
4 fayour4blo reports issued by these irresponsible