The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-06 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

His Highness Tokugawa Mimbutaiho, brother to
the Tycoon, was expected to visit Aldershot yester-
day, to be present at a winter field day on Eelmoor
Hill. The troops were in readiness—in fact, on the
regimental parades, when a telegram was received
at head quarters postponing the visit for a few days.
The morning was very foggy and damp, though
the day turned out a beautiful one, and his High-
ness might come on a good many December days
without having so favourable a one as yesterday.
The field dly bhing countermanded, brigade parades
for the infantry and route marching for the cavalry
and IrJrse artillery were continued for a time. The
troops were all in quarters by 12 o'clock.
The armour plated wood built frigate Royal Oak
has returned her guns into store at Portsmouth, and
is landing her other stores, preparatory to being
paid out of her present term of commission. With
her thin outer skirt of armour-plating on the ordi-
nary wood-built side, the latter having no inner iron
skin, and with bolt ends and nuts projecting on the
gun-deck, the Royal Oak is only fit for service in a
home port at a flag or coastguard ship, and for this
kind of service she will most likely be appropriated.
Such a ship would not pay for conversion to carry a
heavier armament, nor could she be made, under
any conditions of alterations or expenditure of
money, fit to take her part in line of battle in a fleet
of ironclads of the present day. Even the Royal
Oak teaches us things, however, which should not
be forgotten, as illustrative of our present system of
naval maladministration. We may mention three
instances in this wise :-1. Rifled guns with their
carriages were sent out to Malta for the ship, to
supersede the old-fashioned 8-inch smoothbores with
which she sailed from England, but as no fittings
were sent with the guns the ship returned to Eng-
land with her old smoothbores still on board. 2.
The Lords of the Admiralty are so well posted up in
all matters relating to the armament of the navy
that on the arrival of the Royal Oak in Portsmouth
harbour from the Mediterranean their lordships
could not say whether 12-ton rifles or ordinary
68-pounder smoothbores were mounted in her bat-
teries! They therefore telegraphed to Portsmouth
for the necessary information. 3. As the captain
of the Royal Oak is senior to the captain of the
Steam Reserve at Portsmouth, no .orders can be
given by the latter officer to the former relative to
the machinery and stores of the ship (as is the cap-
tain of the Steam Reserve's special duty) in the
progress of the necessary preparations for paying
out of commission. Fortunately, both Captain
Chamberlain and the captain of the Royal Oak are
officers who prefer the " good of the service," as it
is somewhat pedantically phrased nowadays, tb their
own personal feelings, and therefore the difficulty
may be got over. The naval administration of
England is, to say the very least, full of strange
anomalies.

A naval court-martial assembled yesterday on
board her Majesty's ship Victory, for the trial of
Joseph Bennett, a first-class boy, serving on board
Her Majesty's paddle sloop Gladiator, Capt. D'O.
D'Aplin, on a charge of striking at the master-at-
arms of that vessel with a cutlass. The court found
the charge proved, and sentenced the lad to receive
48 lashes, and be afterwards imprisoned in Lewes
Gaol for two years with hard labour.
The following is an extract from a private latter
received by our Portsmouth correspondent from
Montevideo, dated Oct. 29 :—" Her Majesty's ship
Narcissus was at Montevideo on the 30th October,
with the Nassau, Gleaner, and Spider ; the latter
vessel returned from Maldonado on the 27th. At
Buenos Ayres were the Linnet and Doterel. The
war in Paraguay goes launching on as ever. The
peace negotiations of Mr. Gould, Secretary of Lega-
tion and Lieut Michell, in her Majesty's ship Doterel,
seem to have had no effect. Cholera has set in up
the river."

The following promotions were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :
Lieut. W. Neilson to the Pyladas ; Chas. W. G. Spring,
midshipman, to' the Liffey ; William Barton, navigating-
midshipman, to the Danao ; Henry R. Johnston, navi-
gating-midshipman, to the Pylades ; Charles D. Lindsay,
paymaster, to the Pylades ; William Rintoul, assistant-
paymaster, to the Pylades ; Frederick James, asiistant-
paymaster, to the Cumberland; Edward Armstrong, clerk,
to the Pylades;. Herbert E. Budge, assistant-clerk, to the
Pylades; Walter Parnel, clerk, to the Danae ; Samuel
Crooke, assistant-clork, to the St. Vincent; Charles J.
Hill, navigating-lieut., to the Royal 0 ; Jesse Dixon'
navigating-lieut., to the Pylades.