The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-22 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

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-The Admiralty yacht Black Eagle, Master-Com-1
=ander J. E. Petley, returned to Woolwich on Sa-
turday from Dover. On arriving the body of the
third engineer, named Alibone, was conveyed
on shore, and transported to the dead-house of the
Royal Marine Hospital, to- await the inquiry of_ a
coroner and jury. The unfortunate deceased met
with his death on Wednesday last, two hours after
the Black Eagle sailed. from Dover, having era-
larked H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and suite for
Ostend. It has been ascertained that the deceased
was engaged in the engine-room, and was in the
act of " feeling the crank for hot bearings," when
from a sudden lurch of the ship his foot slipped,
and falling forward his head was caught between
the crank-head and the beam, causing instant
death. Thos. Parkes, a private belonging to the
Woolwich division of the Royal Marides, was at
the same time brought into the infirmary almost
dead from the effects of a dose of sugar-of-lead,
which, it appears, he had that morning swallowed
at :a house of ill-fame situated in the Rope-yard
rails, the general resort of the most abandoned
characters of both sexes. It appears that the ma-
rine had broken his leave, and that under the fear
of being discovered by his picket he had resolved
on self-destruction Having purchased a packet of
sugar-of-lead, which is commonly used in cleaning
the leathers forming a part of their kit, he returned
to the house, dissolved the drug in a glass of water,
which he drank off, and, having furnished his
brother's address, informed the inmates that he had
poisoned himself, pointing to the empty glass. The
assistance of Dr. Richardson was promptly ob-
tained, and by the agency of a powerful emetic the
noxious drug was removed from his stomach, when
he was conveyed to the Marine Infirmary, and is
expected to recover.
The Elfin, Royal yacht tender , Master-Com-
mander A. Balliston, has been taken off the gri-
diron" alongside Portsmouth dockyard, where she
usually goes when her copper needs cleaning, and
is ready again for attendance on the Queen. The
Fairy, Royal yacht, Master-Commander Welch, is
also ready for her Majesty's embarkation, on the
arrival of the Court on the way to Osborne, which
is expected to be on or about the Ist of December.
His Serene Highness Prince Ernestof Leiningen,
commander of the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert
(Captain the Hon. Joseph Denman, C. 8., Aide-
de-Camp to the Queen), has taken a house in
Anglesey-terrace, Gosport, for 12 months' resi-
dence, and with the Princess and establishment will
shortly occupy it.
Captain H. Eyres, C.B. commanding her Ma-
jesty's ship St. Vincent •, Captain G. H. Seymour,
C. 8., Aide•de-Camp to the Queen, commanding her
Majesty's ship Victory ; and Captain G. T. Gordon,
commanding her Majesty's ship Hannibal, were
conveyed on Saturday from Portsmouth in her
Majesty's steamvessel Sprightly, Mr. G. Allen,
master commanding, to Southampton Water, to
form a court of inquiry and to investigate charges
made against a lieutenant of Her Majesty's ship
Arrogant, 47, Captain L. G. Heath, C. 8., doing
Coastguard and Naval Coast Volunteer duties in
those waters. It is supposed a court-martial will
follow. Captain Gordon, on leaving the court, pro-
ceeded to visit Admiral Sir T. Cochrane, at his seat
near Fishbourne.
The St. Vincent, 102, Captain Eyres, C. 8., is
alongside the Prince Regent hulk, off the King's-
stairs, in Portsmouth harbour, preparing to receive
her crew and take her old moorings as ordinary
flagship off gtonT-ateps, on the Gosport side, where
the mud engine is
,now at work on a bank clearing
away obstructions accumulated there, which other-
wise Might prevent her swinging comfortably.
Rear-Admiral the Hon. G. Grey, Superintendent
of Portsmouth Dockyard, returned from leave and
rehoisted his flag at the mizen of the St. Vincent
on Saturday afternoon.,
Captain G. T. Gordon, commanding her Majesty's
steamship Hannibal, 91, depot of the steam fleet in
reserve at Portsmouth, has made an alteration in
the routine duties of the crew which is most consi-
derate and humane in itself and salutary and com-
fortable to the men. It is the practice in the fleet to
" rouse out" at 4 o'clock in the morning to holy-
stone and scrub. decks. This in the winter is work
which may be considered equal to punishment, the
cold Water frequently freezing on the decks and
keeping them damp all day. The crew must be a
hardy and well-seasoned one on which such a sys-
tem would not introduce a large quota to the sick
bay. Capt. Gordon has ordered the discontinuance
altogether, for the winter months, of holystoning—
a practice which some officers have carried to such
an extent as to wear through the decks,—substitu-
ting washing once a-week with warm water from
the boilers in lieu of cold from over the side, and
the crew to turn out at half past five instead of four
in the morning. There are upwards of 1,150, all
ranks included, on the books of the Hannibal, about
500 or 600 of whom are on board.
The Urgent, 6, screw steam troop-ship, Com-
mander Macdonald, is stowing ship in readiness for
the baggage of the troops she is ordered to em-
bark. She bent sails on Saturday alongside Ports-
mouth Dockyard, and to-morrow Admiral Sir G.
Seymour, Lieutenant-Colonel Conolly, Assistant
Quartermaster-General, and Surgeon-Major Moore,
M.D., principal medical officer of the South-West
District, are ordered to survey and inspect her prior
to reporting on her fitness to receive her allotted
troops.
The Avon, steam-tender, Mr. J. Palmer master-
commanding, arrived at Portsmouth on Saturday
from- Devonport, with such of the seamen, marine
artillerymen,and light Infantry as belong to Ports-
mouth, paid off from her Majesty's steam-frigate
Centaur. She returned yesterday to Devonport.
Thirty hired shipwrights were discharged from
Dockyard on Saturday afternoon ; these were men
entered specially to work on the Britannia, 120
guns, sailing ship, fitting to supersede the Illus-
trious, 74, as berthing and training ship for newly-
admitted young officers into the navy, under the
command of Captain Robert Harris.
The steam-transport Rhadamanthus, 4, Master
Commander F. R. Sturdee, from Glasgow, arrived
at Plymouth on 'Friday, with boilers for the
Turkish ship Shadie, and machinery for the frigate
Fethia. . The Rhadamanthus brought also 10
volunteers from Glasgow for the screw steam-
frigate Liffey, 51. -
The brig Childers, 12, Commander Swinburn,
from the West Coast of Africa, last from Cork,
arrived in Plymouth Sound yesterday (Sunday)
morning, and was signalised to proceed to Chatham
to be paid off.
The paddle-wheel surveying vessel Asp, from
South Wales, arrived at Plymouth on Friday
morning, and was placed in the basin at Keyham
for examination,
Lieutenant Frederick Anstruther Herbert (1648),
whose promotion to the rank of commander we
announced on Saturday, has seen much service, he
having joined the Spiteful, 6, paddle sloop, in the
Mediterranean, on the sth of October, 1849, where
he 'served for several years, when he removed into
the Nile, 91, screw, in the Baltic, on the 3d of
February, 1854, and served throughout the whole
of the Russian war. He was appointed to the com-
mand of the Dove, steam gunboat, on the 4th of
January, 1856, and, after serving several months,
was again appointed, on the Ist of December, 1856,
to be senior lieutenant in the Indus, 78, flag ship of
Vice-Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, K.C.8., on the
North American and West Indian- station, where
he remained until the present time.
The following appointments were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. W. Boulton to be
lieutenant-commander of the Firm gunboat, vice
Nicolas, promoted; Lieut. E. Wilmot, to the Indus,
for gunnery duties ; Lieut. E. M. Collier to the
Nile ; A. C. May, mate, to the Royal Albert ; C.
Forrest, mate, to the Brunswick ; J. Elliot, staff-
surgeon, to the Calcutta • J. P. Burke, surgeon, to
the Diadem ; and E. W. Shirley, midshipman, to'
the Liffey.