The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-30 00:00:00

Mit; SUN, LONDON, FRMAY EVENING, DECEMBER 70, If,s;.A

2 ILE NAVY.

The Urgent, screw troopship, Commander H. W.
Hire, steamed into Portsmouth harbour yesterday
from Spithead, preparatory to embarking troops.
The Perseverance, Commander Power, at Ports-
mouth, had been previously' ordered by telegram
from the Admiralty to prepare for this service, but
further defects having been •discovered on board
that vessel, thay will necessarily delay her readi-
ness for sea until the middle of next month. Her
bowsprit, among other defects, has been found
faulty, and will have to be taken out.

The Fawn, 17, screw, Commander IL B. Cator,
steamed into Portsmouth harbour yesterday from
Spithead.
The Immortalite, 51, screw, at Portsmouth, is
ordered to be fitted for the 2d class steam reserve.
The Galatea, 26, is to be fitted for the first divi-
sion of the steam reserve, and not the second divi-
sion, as previously ordered.
Thescrew steamship Nile, 00, Capt. Wilmot, C. 8.,
at Plymouth, is to be stripped and thoroughly over-
hauled, and prepared for immediate service. Her
masts will not be removed. The men will be paid
on Saturday.

The • lighter Devon; - Thomas Jennings, master,
which left Plymouth on Tuesday fur Pembroke, with
jury gear for the Espoir, was obliged to put back in
consequence of the boisterous state of the weather.

The crew of ale screw steam frigate Emerald,
Capt. A. Cunningham, will be paid wages at Ply-
mouth on Saturday, and granted leave of absence.
An exchange of Division has been sanctioned bo-
lween Lieut. and Adjt. I'. Warrington, of the Ports-
mouth Division, and Lieut. and Acljt. F. Lean, of
the Plymouth Division of Light Infantry.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—P. W. Govett, surgeon, to
the Alacrity; and T. A. Jones, acting third-class
assistant-engineer, to the Ash, its supernumerary.

of m—y
company were in the room

Soon after they had passed I heard the crash of
glass, and went out from 'my company's room to
see what it was about. The windows of the militia
quarters were then being broken. I was in the
middle gallery, opposite the militia. Several men
of the 24th were in the gallery above mine, shout-
ing. In reply to this attack a shower of coals and
other missiles were thrown across at our men,
which were again returned by the men of the 24th.
The bugle for the non-commissioned officers to fall
in was then sounded, and while I went down to
attend it the firing commenced, though ,I could not
say on which side it commenced first. Afterwards
there were several shots fired from both sides. I
am positiv I saw the flashes of the rifles from both
sides, though I could not see who fired them. I
could distinguish the figures of the men firing
rifles, but not their features. I don't, think there
were more than four or five men who fired from
our side that I saw. lam certain there was more
than one shot fired from the militia side, as I saw
two of their men fire at the same time., The whole
firing continued between five and ten minutes.
When it began I went to my own company and
took a rifle from a man in a room near the centre
of the block. The name of that man was William
Lord. I took the rifle from him and found that it
had been recently discharged, as the barn' was
warm at the time, and the rifle had been again re-
loaded. That was the only rifle which was fired
in my company, as I examined the rest of the rifles
and the state of the men's ammunition. The other
rifles were clean and the packets of ammunition
perfect, except the packet belonging to Lord. I
found seven rounds of ball cartridge were missing
from him, and one in his rifle, making in all eight
rounds. Each man of the line fit for duty has 20
rounds of ball cartridge always with him. I saw
no flash at all from the centre gallery on our side.
In the window of the room No. 14, occupied by
my company, there is a round hole made by a
bullet. I have examined the fracture of the
glass of that window, and I am sure the bullet
was not fired out of the room, but into it, from
the militia side. That is the only mark of .a
bullet I have seen on our side. I have been told
there is another, but I have not been to see it.
There is no mark of a bullet in the interior of No.
14 room, which there certainly ought to be if the
bullet through the window came from the other
side. I cannot say whether the marks on the mi-
litia side were caused by bullets or not. The man
Lord was sober when I took the rifle from him,
though under the influence of liquor. It is quite
possible that other men of my company could have
got ammunition from Lord's touch, hut none of
their rifles had been recently discharged, and I
examined them almost directly the row was over.
I do not, however, think that Lord could have had

time to fire the seven rounds missing from his pouch
during the tine I was away. There was firing
going on from our side among the troops in the
gallery over my head.
Colour-Sergeant Joseph Rowbotham, of the 2d
Battalion of the 24th Regiment, said—On Christ-
mas night last, soon after eight o'clock. I heard the
windows of the Tower Hamlets' Militia being
broken. I was going up to the gallery opposite
that of the Tower Hamlets, on my way to the
rooms of my company, when lumps of coal began
to come across from the militia quarters. I col-
lected my company, and found two men absent,
named Williams and Hatton. Afterwards one

of them came in with a shako belonging to the
Tower Hamlets' Militia on his head. I got all
but two of my men together when I heard the
firing begin, and at that time I think the officers

It was im-