The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-20 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

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PER

The-Virago, 6, paddlewheel steamer, Commander
Montagu B. Dunn, arrived in harbour at Chatham ;
yesterday, from Plymouth, for the purpose of towing i
the Eurydice, 26, to Portsmouth, where she is to be
employed as a training ship for. the naval cadets
TIT serving on board the Britannia, 126. The Eurydice
has made great progres with her fitments at Chatham,
and will shortly be ready.; to leave that port. Dur-
ing the time the Virago is in harbour the crew will
;, be employed assisting rigging the Eurydice.
A court-martial was held yesterday on board her
Majesty's ship Victory in Portsmouth harbour for
the trial of Lieutenant-Commander John Binney
Scott, Mr. Moss, second master, and Stephen Gruett,
ordinary seaman (lookout man on the night in ques-
tion), for the loss of her Majesty's screw steam gun.
boat Jaseur, on the Baxo Nuevo shoal, during the
passage of that vessel from Port Royal to Greytown,
at 10.30 p.m. on the 26th of February last. The
court was composed of Captain George T. Gordon,
C. 8., her Majesty's ship Hannibal, and command-
ing Steam Reserve, president ; Captains R. Harris,
Britannia; R. S. Hewlett, C. 8., Excellent; H.
Caldwell, C. 8., Mersey; T. Wilson, St. Vincent;
and E. Heathcote, Doris. Mr. Hillier officiated as
Deputy-Judge Advocate. After hearing the evidence
adduced by the prosecution as against Mr. Moss, the
second master, and Stephen Gruett, ordinary seaman,
and the evidence brought forcurd by the said Mr.
Moss and Stephen Gruett their defence, the
Court, after the most careful deliberation, severally
acquitted the prisoners of the charge brought
against them. The Court then proceeded with the
trial of Lieutenant John Binney Scott, the com-
mander of the Jaseur, on the same charge. The
result was that Lieutenant Scott was acquitted.
The master and gunner were recommended to the
Admiralty for their conduct after the wreck.
The Bullfinch and Pincher gunboats were yester-
day taken out of No. 7 dock at Portsmouth and
placed in thesteam basin. The Doris, 32, new screw
steam frigate, Capt. H. Heathcote, was afterwards
taken into the same dock for the purpose of clean-
ing her copper, which proved to be exceedingly foul.
The Mersey, 40, at Spithead, is takingin powder
and shell, &c., prior to her short Channel cruise.

THE ARMY.

With the view of qualifying the troops belonging
to the East India depots at Chatham to take part in
the siege operations intended to be executed at that
garrison during the ensuing summer, the non-
commissioned officers and men of the regiments of
the Line have commenced practising escalading
operations, in conjunction with the corps of Royal
and East India Engineers, the fineness of the
weather permitting these operations, which are di-
rected by an officer of Royal Engineers, to be car-
ried on without intermission.
During yesterday and the previous day large
parties of non-commissioned officers and men of the
Royal Engineers, belonging to the survey com-
panies stationed in various parts of the country,
arrived at head-quarters, Brompton barracks, Chat-
ham, for the purpose of being put through a course
of instruction with the Lancaster rifle. In conse-
quence of the new regulations issued under the
authority of the Duke of Cambridge, the men of
these companies of Royal Engineers will only be
trained once with the Lancaster carbine, as the time
for an annual course of training usual with the other
branches of the service would greatly retard the
operations of the trigonometrical survey of Great
Britain in which they are engaged.
Orders have been received for the breaking up of
the Military Train Depot at Horfield barracks. The
men will join the 2d battalion on its arrival home
from India, this corps having been much reduced by
men volunteering into the Line. Captain Blake will
take command vice Captain Hill, until the Ist of
May, when Colonel Robinson will assume the com-
mand.

His Royal Highness the General Commaading-
in-Chief, attended by Colonel Tyrwhitt, Aide-de-
Camp, went down to Woolwich yesterday morning
and witnessed the trial of a new method of lubri-
cating the barrels of the army rifles, proposed by
Mr. Whitworth. The Duke arrived at Woolwich
at half-past 10, and drove direct to the practising
range in the Plumstead marsh, where were already
assembled, in anticipation of his Royal Highness's
arrival, General Sir F. Burgoyne, G.C.8., Inspec-
tor-General of Fortifications; Major-General Hay,
Inspector• General of Musketry; Major-General Sir
W. F. Williams, K.C.8., commanding the garrison,
Colonel Bloomfield, Aide-de-Camp to the Queen
and Second Commandant ; Colonel Bingham,
Adjutant-General to the Royal Artillery; Brigade
Major Shaw ; Captain Boxer, Superintendent
of the Royal Laboratories ; Captain Freeth,
Deputy-Assistant Quartermaster-General, Sze. Mr.
Whitworth personally directed the trials with one
of his own rifles and one of the Enfield large bore.
The target stood at a distance of 500 yards from
the firing station, and after firing a number of
rounds, the distance was increased to 800 yards.
The method was perfectly successful, and as regarded
the superiority of the two rifles, as is usually the
case under favourable circumstances, it was unani-
mously decided in favour of the Whitworth rifle.
A new species of cartridge is about to be introduced
which has been for some time past under the con-
sideration of the select committee of the Arsenal,
and which it is confidently asserted will redeem
and fully establish the reputation and principle of
the Enfield rifle, and remove the inconvenience of
fouling, recently complained of by the Indian army.
The 12-pounder brass artillery gun some time
ago presented to her Majesty by the Emperor of
the French was yesterday removed from the Arsenal
store at Woolwich by a detachment of the Royal
Horse Artillery, and conveyed to the Royal Reposi-
tory.

LOSS OF TILE STEAMER GENERAL
WILLIAMS.

Letters from Malta announce the loss by founder-
ing of the screw steamer General Williams, Jona-
than Peter, master, in lat. 36 10 N., and long.
18 20 E., on the 3d of April, when on her voyage
from London to the Pirwus of Athens, Smyrna, and
Constantinople. She was laden with a general
cargo, consisting of iron and sundry other merchan-
dise. All hands were saved by being taken out
of the sinking vessel a quarter of an hour before
by the French brig Augustin Elize, Joseph Azibert,
master, which was fortunately passing at the
time, and landed at Malta, in all, 42 individuals,
including four passengers, of whom one was a
female. The conduct of Captain Azibert, in stand-
ing by the sinking vessel for several hours, during
which the crew endeavoured to keep the water
under, and also his subsequent kindness, refusing
even compensation, cannot be too much praised. It
appears that the vessel reached Malta without any
disaster at noon on the Ist of April, and taking her
departure thence perfectly tight and seaworthy on
the same night, met next day with stress of wea-
ther ; the sea carried away port gangway, rails,
bulwarks, poop, and bridge ladders, seven warps
and towlines coiled on the quarter hatch, and the
lid of one of the bunkers, which latter they
lost no time in battening up with canvas and
planks. Another sea carried away the other gang-
way, and the main gangway gave way. At half-
past two a.m. of the 3d April, 9 feet of water was
found in the engine-room, and soon after, rising
even still higher, extinguished the fires, when the
ship was hove to under the fore and aft foresail,
and all hands were set to pump and bale out the
water. At 6, finding this increasing, they pro-
ceeded to cast overboard some rod iron of the cargo;
at 7 sighted the French brig, and made a signal of
distress ; and at half-past 8 she hove to under their
lee, and her captain consented to stand by the
steamer, which at 11 was visibly sinking, where-
uponinte
whichth e two
alifeboatsll
hands
haunrdriegdi,g
last to leave) having sounded and found four-
teen6fneekteyofewngaitneer t
he were
master launched,
(the
had not reached the French brig many minutes when
the dchngolidn,e.arnoodmh. higher
crew
n
the steamer foundered, stern foremost, with
inin thethe
all she had on board, nothing having been saved
.
but a bag of specie taken in at Malta for Smyrna,
and the ship's chronometer. The vessel, which
belonged to the Greek and Oriental Steam Naviga-
tion Company, was iron built, and had a tubular
h the gale,
tremendously
some of her plates must have opened.
wizen mist
was ftr ofo
em theNt.
h e sesse l Na m
.N
le metal.
w ~t
h a Duringtre
heavy sea, aboured and strained very
also sharp lightning for three or four
hours ; but none of the crew seem to think she had
been struck by the electric fluid.
much,her wasa d

PROSPECTS OF WAR.—It was noticed that Lord
ng all hope of
Derby on Monday evening stated that, before finally aban-
cloni an adjustment, the British Government
had suggested one more proposition, the nature of which
h e was not at present at liberty to state. This proposition
is understood to have been despatched to Vienna only on
Monday afternoon, and the answer is not supposed to have
been yet received. The public, however, have learnt so
thoroughly to estimate the duplicity practised daily during
the past few months that the restoration of confidence,
without some violent change first being witnessed in the
relations of Europe, is now regarded as an impossibility. It
is felt that, even if a transitory respite is obtained by "con-
cessions" from Austria, it will simply be a question as to
which is the next Power from whom concessions are to be
extorted in like manner at the cannon's mouth. The idea
that the Emperor Napoleon intends by a bona fide disarma-
ment to undo the work on which, at a cost of 10 or 15 mil-
lions sterling per annum, he has been engaged for the past
four years, or that, as regards his naval preparations, ho
will even so much as pause, seems scarcely to be entertained
in any quarter.—Tines' City Artecle.