The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-19 00:00:00

MILITIA.

The Waterford Militia Artillery will arrive at
P oftsmouth this day to do garrison duty ; the regi-
ment will be conveyed by railway from Plymouth.
The Ist Devon has been inspected by Lieut.-Col.
Warden, of the 19th Foot, at Exeter, and found to
be in a high state of discipline ; a number of the
men: have volunteered into the 19th. Yesterday the
Ist Somerset, Lieut.-Col. Phipps, commandant,
commenced battalion drill in the spacious meadow,
Wellington-road, Taunton ; the men went through
the evolutions with extraordinary precision and ra-
pidity. The West Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry,
Lieut.-Col. the Hon. H.W. P. Portman, have com-
menced training at Bridgewater, and a new troop
has been formed at Ilminster.

TRIAL TRIP OF THE CEYLON.

SOUTHAMPTON, Oct. 16.

'
The fine new screw steamship Ceylon, built for
the Peninsular and Oriental Company, by Samuda
Brothers, of London, and which is one of the noblest
looking vessels of the extensive fleet owned by that
company, underwent an official trial this day.
She left the river about 11 a.m., and steamed to
Stokes-bay, where her speed was put to the custo-
mary test of the measured mile. Among the party
on board we noticed Mr. W. F. De Salis (one of the
directors) and Miss De Salis (who named. the Cey-
lon when she was launched), Mr. J. Allen (managing
director), Capt. Engledue and Mr. A. Lamb (the
Company's superintendent and superintending en-
gineer at Southampton), Capt. Patey (Admiralty
superintendent of mail-packets at this port), Messrs.
Hughes and Luke (Admiralty s
surveyors), Messrs.
Ruble and Murray (surveyor to the Board of
Trade), Mr. J. A. Olding, Mr. Samuda, Mr. E.
Humphreys, Mr. Blackett (from Australia Dr.
Beattie, Mr. Airey, Mr. W. A, Summers of the
firm of Gummers and Day, Southampton), Mr. J.
White (shipbuilder, of Cowes), Captains A. Kellock,
W. H. Powell, and Bradshaw, of the company's
service, &e. The Ceylon ran the mile six times,
having only three boilers in use during the first and
second runs, and all four during the remainder of
the trials. The results were as follow : _

Time. Knots per Pressure of
m.. s. hour. 4tevolutions. Steam.
-Ist .... 4 55 "
2d .... 523
34 .... 418
4th .... 4 42
ritli 4 22
6th .... 4 39
Being an average run, taking the mean of the last
four runs, of 13.940 knots per hour. The draught,
of water was 18 feet forwurd and 18 feet 6 inches
aft. During the return of the vessel to port a
sumptuous repast was served in the saloon, Mr. De
Sails presiding. Among other toasts that of " Suc-
cess to the good ship Ceylon," was drunkin connec-
tion with the names of her builders and engine-
makers, and responded to by Messrs. Samuda and
Humphrys. The health of the directors of the
company was proposed by Captain Patey, who took
occasion to congratulate them on having obtained
the new Australian postal contract; and the chair-
man, in acknowledging the toast, expressed his
hope that they would be as successful in that under-
taking as they had been in their communications
with India and China. The Ceylon returned into
dock in time to enable the London visitors to leav e
by the 5 o'clock train, after enjoying one of the
pleasantest trips ever made, the weather being fully
equal to the most brilliant day of summer, and the
engines working with an ease and freedom from
vibration seldom experienced. It may not be un-
interesting to mention that during the day the
health of Mr. T. White, the venerable father of
Messrs. I. and R. White, of Cowes, who had that
day completed his 85th year, was drunk as the
oldest shipbuilder in the kingdom, and acknow-
ledged by his son, who was one of the party on
board. The Ceylon is commanded by Captain R.
W. Evans, and leaves Southampton on her first
voyage on Wednesday next, taking out the Cal-
cutta and China mails to Alexandria. She is 7,374
8-100ths registered tonnage, and 2,373 4-94ths
builders' measurement. The engines are of 450
nominal horse-power, but they worked up to an
aggregate power or 2,054 horses during to-day's
trial. They are direct-acting, on Humphrys and Ten-
nant's principle, and occupy less room than those on
any other plan of equal or even greater power ;
the actual area of their base is 8 feet thwartships
by 16 feet 43 inches. The dimensions of the ship
are as under :._._

Ft. In.
Length over all 32o' 0
Length between 293 0
seam
.... perpendicular
Depth of bola *************** ****
***********
" 111
Accommodation is provided for**** .1.0. ' firstand 30
passengers,
and
second-class the arrangements
throughout are of the most superior character. The
saloon and ladies' room are beautifully deco•
rated, the prevailing colour bung a light green,
picked ont with gold, with beautifully painted'
bouquets of flowers on the panellings, and th e
drapery hangings are green damask. The ventila-
tion of the ship is perfect, and provision is made for
the suppression of fire, should such a calamity occur
on board, by a very simple apparatus, with which
the whole of the company's ships are fitted. It
consists of a series of pipes extending all over the
ship, attached to a steameock at the bottom of the
boiler, so that by turning this cock on the outbreak
of fire in any part of the vessel a perfect deluge of
steam is poured upon the flames. This appliance
has been mgeneral use on board the company's
ofmailMr, A.
packets_amfo_r many years, and is the invention
wholv-aits, Lamb,
believe,
company's resident engineer,
for the pm eof extinguishing the first that applied steam
The first vessel fitteedinguishing fires on shipboard.
with the apparatus was the
Jupiter, sold many ears ago to the North of Europe
Steam Navigation Company,