The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-29 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

The Espoir, 5, screw, commander S. Douglas,
emcee( kled in capturing a valuable prize on the 4th
ult. The Espoir was on her way to Ascension
uneLer canvass, find had arrived within 200 miles of
the island, but 'tieing rather to leeward steam was
got up to get laer into the anchorage. The com-
mander had ji tst finished taking his sights at noon
(the master t•eing sick), when the man at the mast-
head reporfrld a sail on the weatherbow. The com-
mander want below and fixed the position of the
ship by his observations. On coming again on deck
and looking at the stranger he was seen suddenly
to change his course. " Starboard !" "Go on full
speed !" were the orders given on board the Espoir,
and the little vessel was in chase, the stranger haul-
ing his wind and taking in his studdingsails. At
3.20 p.m. the Espoir was up with the chase and
captured her. She proved to be the barque Clara
Windsor, of New York, without colours or papers,
260 tons burden, 720 slaves stated by her crew to
be on board, and with a crew of fearful-looking
miscreants, 23 in number. The prize crew were
taken out of her and placed on board the Espoir,
while Lieut. Stevenson with 12 of the Espoir's crew
took charge of the prize, and commenced beating
their way up to Ascension. The Espoir kept on

under steam, but her engines broke down the same
night, and it was consequently a week before
she reached the island. The prize arrived two
days afterwards, short of water, and with 20
deaths among her cargo: This latter must
be regarded as a small average, when it
is considered that the slave deck of
the ship on which these 720 human beings had been
packed was only four feet in height. The prize was
supplied with water and sent on from Ascension to
Sierra Leone for adjudication. Slaves at Cuba were
stated to be fetching 600 dole, each; therefore tke
Clara Windsor's freight represented a market value
of £86,400. The cost of the "article" was 60 dols.
each, or £B,OOO. £5 lOs per head is allowed for
each slave captured by our cruisers and delivered
alive, and half that sum for each slave who may die
after the capture of the vessel. The proceeds of
the sale of the vessel's stores and outfit are reckoned
in the present instance to cover the expenses, leav-
ing the sum allowed for the hull to be added to the
spoil to be shared by the lucky captors.
The Royal paddle yacht Victoria and Albert has
been placed in No. 7 Dock at Portsmouth for over-
haul and repair, fitting new floats, &c. Her masts
have been taken out for examination and shorten-
ing, and the mainmast has been found defective.
They have seen about six years' service. The
weight of the foremast, with its wire rigging, is 11
tons, 13 cwt., 2 qrs.

The Cossack, 20, screw, :Capt. R. Moorman, is
caulking and refitting in No. 1 Dock at Ports-
mouth. Lieut. Barkley has been succeeded in his
duties as Senior Lieut. by Lieut. J. Gilmore.
The Rolla, naval apprentice brig, Lieut.-Com-
mander Charles G. Nelson, has been placed in the
ship basin at Portsmouth, to refit for service in the
spring. She is receiving considerable repairs to
her topsides at the hands of the shipwright de-
partment. The Eurydice, sailing frigate, has also
been placed in the same basin for repairs, &c.,
prior to her commission ;as a seagoing naval-cadet
training ship.
The discharge of the hired men from Porte-

mourh dockyard, commencing on the 23d proximo,
will be continued at the rate of 96 men weekly
until the 25th of May, by which time the reduc-
tion ordered will have been effected. The pro-
portions of men discharged weekly will be 44
shipwrights, other trades 26, and labourers 26.
Men wishing to proceed to their homes or to work
at a distance are to be provided with railway
passes for themselves and their tools, but no
provision is made for conveying back the men's
wives and families. The majority of the hired men
since their employ in Portsmouth yard have stood
well in the estimation of their superior officers,
and particularly so have the North Country ship.
wrights. Many of the shipwrights in the yard
were also members of the Dockyard or 3d Hants
Volunteer Artillery Corps, and which body will
suffer severely in a decrease of numbers by these
men's discharge from the dockyard.
The Lords of Admiralty have decided on discon.
tinning the system of job and task work at Chatham
Dockyard, which has been in operation at that esta-
blishment during the last few years.
The long-pending question in dispute between the
parochial authorities of Chatham and the Govern-
ment relative to the payment by the latter of their
fair share of the parochial rates, which fall with
peculiar heaviness on the ratepayers of that and the
adjoining parishes, in consequence of the vast pub-
lic establishments being by law exempt from the
payment of parochial rates, has at length been
settled by the Government consenting to pay a
yearly sum towards the rates of each of the parishes
in which property belonging to the Crown is
situated, according to the calculation made by Mr.
Hall, the Government surveyor. The parochial
authorities at Chatham have accordingly received
within the last few days the sum of £1,750 65.,
being the first instalment of the sum which the
Government will annually pay to that parish. By •
this arrangement the parish of Gillingham, and also
that of St. Margaret, Rochester, in both of which
the Crown has considerable property, will receive
large sums from the Government in liquidation of
the poor and other rates.

The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut, Francis L. Wood,
to the Narcissus ; Lieut. Charles Pringle to the
l'rincess Royal ; John G. O'Connell, Second

Master, to the Cumberland, for the Griffon ; and

. _
Thomas Sagar, first class Assist,Engineer, addi-
tional, to th© Cumberland, for service in the

Chaneur.