The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-04 00:00:00

.manity.
Messrs. Clayton, solicitors, of Lancaster-place,
Strand, had generowly declined to accept any re-
muneration for their valuable services in assisting
the institution to obtain the charter.

Payments, amounting to £597, having been made
on various lifeboat establislunents, the proceedings
closed.

TILE NAVY.

The Duke of Somerset, as First Lord of the
Admiralty, held a levee yesterday, at which the
following officers were present :—Rear-Admiral
Smart, Captain S. S. L. Crofton, M. S. Nolloth,
William R. Rolland, F. Liardet, S. Brock, C.B:,

E. St. L. Cannon, E. G. Fisburne, the Hon. Thomas
Baillie, Hon. George D. Keane, M. J. Lake, and
M. E. B. Tumour; Commanders J. M. Jackson,
C. Sterling, Hon. W. F. Ward, G. A. Phxyre,
John Moresby, Robert D. Aldrich, and J. E. B
irg-
ham ; Lieuts. C. T. W. Cerjat, John W. Pike,
Brickwell, C. M. Chapman, and John D. Ramny.,
A careful survey is now in progress at Chatham
dockyard of the various gun-vessels and morta-r-
-boats in dock and hauled up at that establishmemt,
in order to ascertain the condition of that class; of
vessels, most of which were built for the Admira Jty
by private firms, during the Russian war and ea a
subsequent period. Although the survey has only
been just commenced, and is not by any means
completed, yet enough has been ascertained to con-
demn the past system of allowing an important
class of vessels for the British navy to be constructed
without inspection at private establishments. One
of the first of the gun-vessels surveyed was the
liglindereit 200- Artrrse-powet;. screw despatch -
gunboat. This vessel was built about four y ears
since, at a private establishment, but the names of
the contractors are• stated not to be known at
Chatham dockyard. She was immediately de-
spatched to the Mediterranean, where she was em-
ployed for a lengthened period in carrying de-
spatches, and was eventually paid off at Chatham
at the commencement of the present year. A con-
siderable portion of the planking and sides a this
gun-vessel has been opened, and a cursory exami-
nation shows that she is in a very rotten and de-
cayed state, many of the timbers giving symptoms
of the fatal*" sap," proving that not only has faulty
unseasoned timber has been used, but, further,
that the workmanship is likewise bad, and such as
if turned out of either of our Royal dockyards
would bring lasting discredit on the establishment.
There are also several of the mortar vessels built
during the Russian war hauled upon the slips at
Chatham dockyard, and placed under cover to pro-
tect them from the effects of the weather. Two of
these have recently been taken into:the second dock,
they are numbered 30 and 32. Both these vessels
have undergone a careful survey, and give such un-
mistakeable proofs of rottenness and decay, that if
they are only a specimen of the other gun and
mortar vessels, a large number of which are at
Chatham and the other ports, their condition is,
to say the least, alarming. Although these, with
other vessels, were carefully scraped and cleaned
by the convicts, the timbers and frames are in a
seriously faulty state, the timbers being ex-
ceedingly rotten, showing bad materials used by the
contractors, while, at the same time, insects have
made great ravages in the timbers below the water.
Two mortar vessels hauled up on the slips have
likewise been inspected, one of which shows the
workmanship to have been rather better, but both
are rotting, the timber being of a quality which
ought never to have been used for such a class of
vessels. There is a complete squadron of these gun
and mortar boats lying at Chatham, and, from the
result of the examinations already made, grave
fears are entertained that all these vessels will be
found, more or less, in a state of decay.
The Bulwark, screw steamer, building at Chat-
ham, has a number of shipwrights employed in
planking her. She is being completed with the
utmost despatch, and is expected to be ready for
launching during the present year.
The Royal Oak, 91, and the Belvedere, 51, two
of the new screw steamers ordered to be built at
Chatham, are having their timbers prepared pre-
paratory to being laid down.
The, Torch, screw gun•vessel, built by private
contract, is fitting at Chatham.
The Megtera, screw troopship, Commander llen-
derson, was berthed alongside of the dockyard, at
Portsmouth, and will this morning embark the
troops enumerated in The fun of the Ist inst. for
conveyance to Malta and Gibraltar, calling at
Queenstown.

The Victoria, 121, screw, in the steam basin at
Portsmouth, has tested her machinery at 401 b. pres-
sure. Everything turned out satisfactorily. She
is expected to make her contractor's trial outside
the harbour to-morrow, and to test her speed at the
measured mile in Stokes Bay about Tuesday next.
The Albion, paddle steam-vessel, in No. 4 dock
at Portsmouth, is being broken up, the defects in
her hull having been found of too extensive a nature
to admit of repair. She is 33 years old.
The Octavia, 51, sailing frigate, having been cut
asunder in No. 9 dock at Portsmouth, for the pur-
pose of lengthening and conversion to a screw, and
her after-body bulk-headed in and caulked, the
water was yesterday let into the dock until it
reached the 16-feet mark on the frigate's sternpost,
when she showed symptoms of being alive on her
blocks. Tackles attached to her stern hauled the
after-body to a distance of 58 feet 8 inches, the space
required for her midship lengthening, when the
water was again pumped out, and the Octavia was
finally placed in position to complete her conversion
from a sailing craft to a screw. Her outer stern-
post will be placed 13 feet 8 inches abaft her pre-
sent one, to adapt her stern for the propeller.
Yesterday being the anniversary of the birth of
his Majesty Carl XV., King of Sweden and Nor-
way, the Swedish corvette Najaden, together with
the port division of the Channel Fleet and her
Majesty's ship Victory, and ships in Portsmouth
harbour, dressed out in colours with the Swedish
ensign at the main, and at noon fired a Royal
salute in honour of the day. A Royal salute was
also fired at the same time from the-garrison salut-
ing battery, on the King's Bastion. Capt. Ekman,
commanding the Najaden, accompanied by the
Swedish and Norwegian Consul, afterwards paid an
official visit to the military and naval authorities.
We are requested to state that Capt. Douglas
Curry now commands the Aboukir, having super-
seded Capt. Schomberg for more than three months.
The following appointments ware made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Capt. Lord F. 11. Kerr to the
ImH. Stewart,
W. H.
T. M.
C.B.,pr etgentahbel em, vaircleb
eSrtee
ewgahr,t
v;
cCapt.
Kerr;
W
the Excellent
W. Davies, and C. AI.
acn. d L. i
He u
at
r.
vEey. Pto
the Mersey ; L. A. Bell, F.
Weld,Ma gn
to a
Tumor, midshipman, to the Bacchante ; C. W.
cHell'eMn t.; CLairernet'•
R.
Beaumont,
midshipman to the Hero; William Jef-
fery, master, to the Saturn, for the Andromache ;
Henry G. Raynes, master, to the Edinburgh ; John
Penn, master, to the Monarch ; Richard W. Ward,
master, additional, to the Dauntless ; J. D. Will-
shire, acting second-ma‘ ter, additional, to the Blen-
heim; Albert Carr, master's assistant, to the Mel-
pomene ; Daniel Alcock, acting assist.-surg., to the
Terrible ; William Pratt and Ashley It. Mexhain,
acting third-class assistant engineers, to the Ma-
, gzvra, as supernumeraries.

Yesterday a draught of 25 non-commissioned
officers and men of various corps left St. Mar3's
invalid establishment, 18 of whom received their
discharge from the F. ervice, and the remainder pro•
ceeded to join their respective depots.

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