The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-30 00:00:00

THE ^ NAVY.

The boats of the ships of Rear-Admiral J.l
Erskine's division of the Channel Fleet, lying at 1
Spithead, mustered yesterday morning under the
stern of the Edgar flagship, manned and armed, and
afterwards went through a variety of manceuvres
under oars and canvass. The cadets of the Britannia
training ships were also called away in their boats,
and being formed into two divisions, pulled out of
harbour and effected a lauding on the beach, storm-
ing the western curtain of Portsmouth lines.
The Duncan, 101, screw, resumed her experi-
mental trials at Portsmouth yesterday, using on
this occasion a three-bladed propeller with its lead-
ing edges removed. The draught of water was the
same as on the last trial. The mean result of six
runs gave the ship a speed of 13.289 knots, with 55
revolutions of the engines.
The Sutlej, 51, screw frigate, had a most interest-
ing trial made on board of her in the steam basin of
Portsmouth Dockyard yesterday with one of Pr.
Normandy's steam water distilling apparatus. The
trial was satisfactory in the highest degree. The
apparatus produces 4,032 gallons of deliciously pure
and cool water in the 24 hours.
The screw steam frigate Immortalite, 51, Capt.
G. Hancock, from Gibraltar, arrived in Plymouth
Sound on Tuesday evening. The Immortalite was
appointed to go into dock at Devonport yesterday
(Wednesday). She left the Channel squadron at
Plymouth on Feb. 9 for Lisbon, and from there
was ordered to the Mediterranean, where she has
since been variously employed. For some time
while at Gibraltar she provided guard-boats to row
guard in the port for the purpose of protecting the
shipping from the Spanish Garda Costas, who were
in the habit of creeping in by night, and carrying
off vessels on the plea that they were smugglers,
from under the guns of the forts. She was
via Valencia, on the 6th
re-
called home per telegraph,
inst., while at Palma, in Majorca, waiting to re-
ceive the Empress of Austria there, and passed the
Empress on the 9th inst. while between the port
and the rock. She left Gibraltar on the 13th inst.,
and returned under sail to the chops of the Chan-
nel, when she got up steam. She experienced
variable N.E. winds. At Gibraltar she left the
Cockatrice, Supply, Argus, and Procris. On her
passage home she signalled on the 20th iust. the
barque John Arthur, and on the 27th the ships
Surrey and Bury St. Edmunds, outward bound
with troops. At Algesiras there were lying a
Spanish line-of-battle ship, a frigate and a large
number of smaller vessels. She was to go into
dock on Wednesday, to repair defects, and is then
to reinforce the North America and West Indian
squadron.
The Challenger, 22, screw corvette, 400 horse-
power, Capt. J. J. Kennedy, C. 8., having shipped
her Armstrong guns and the remainder of her stores,
left the Nore yesterday afternoon under steam.
The Challenger proceeds direct to Portsmouth, and
will afterwards be despatched to the American
waters, together with the other vessels composing
the squadron which the English Government has
decided on stationing on the American coast during
the civil war in the Southern States.

Her Majesty's paddlewheel steamer Cuckoo, 3,
100-horse power, which sank off Chatham dockyard
some time since, has been taken into the fourth
dock at Chatham to undergo a thorough repair and
to have the injuries she has sustained made good,
after which she win be sent to Gibraltar for har-
bour service, instead of the Redpole, 160-horse
power, now attached to that station.

The Herald, 8, surveying-vessel, Captain H. M.
_Denham, which recently arrived at Chatham, will,
it is expected, be paid off on Saturday next. She
has been out eight years, and has only six seamen
of her original crew now on board.

The Industry, iron store-vessel, paid off at Wool-
wich yesterday, has been stripped, and is ordered
to undergo examination for necessary repairs, after
which she will be recommissioned by Master-Com-
manding Hodges.
The Osprey, steam-vessel, was this day undocked,
after repairs, and is ordered to be got ready for

commission.
Admiralty orders have been received sanctioning
Li lain alterations to the basin at Woolwich dock-
yard, for the purpose of admitting the Adventure,
screw steam-vessel, which arrived this week from
China, and will require extensive repairs.
The Escort gun-boat was yesterday morning re-
moved from Haslar slip to the north corner of the
dockyard, where she has commenced taking in shot,
one 18-pounder and one 32-pounder. She will be
masted to-morrow, and placed in the first-class
steam reserve.
Nearly all the convicts recently employed in
Chatham Dockyard have been withdrawn, though
a few still remain. The prisoners thus withdrawn
are to be employed on St. Mary's Island in brick-
making. Good brick earth exists on the island;
and, of course, a vast number of bricks will be re-
quired for the new constructions and the wall for
the proposed great enlargement of the dockyard.
It is expected that an accession of convicts will
shortly be received from Bermuda, some of whom
will probably replace the men now withdrawn from
dockyard work.
Admiral It. S. Robinson has paid an official visit
to Chatham Dockyard, and inspected the prepara-
tions for building the Achilles, iron armour-plated
vessel. These preparations have been actively pro-
ceeding. Thcy are, of course, very different from
those required for an ordinary ship. Travelling
cranes, running along stakes on each side of the
dock, will be employed in moving the large masses
of iron which will be used in constructing the
vessel.
At the Devonport dockyard on Tuesday morning
a fire occurred, apparently from spontaneous com-
bustion, which might have led to very serious loss
of property but for the vigilance of the police. The
ascertained facts are,that as policeman Wm. Stowell,
No. 121, was passing dock No. 4at half-past four
o'clock in the morning he observed that various
packages were burning. He sprung his rattle, when
all the policemen in the yard assembled immedi-
ately, and with the hose promptly extinguished the
fire. Four of the cases containing machinery and a
shipwright's chest were charred outside. One side
of a case containing oil was burnt through. It is
an inch thick and the hole is about a foot square.
The flame from it ascended to a number of spars
used for shoring up ships in dock, and which are
kept triced to the framework of the roof of the
shed. These spars are eight feet above the level of
the yard, they are much blackened, and if they had
become thoroughly ignited various costly buildings
wonld undoubtedly have been burnt. The fire broke
out among stores belongina to the contractors.
The Lords of the Admiralty have given direc-
tions to Messrs. Taylor, of the Britannia works,
Salford, to erect two of their travelling steam crane-
lifts, with elevating jibs, on the Anchor-wharf, at
Chatham dockyard, to facilitate the loading and un-
loading of ship 3. One of the new cranes has been
at work in the dockyard for several days past, and
performs its task in a most expeditious and in
every respect satisfactory manner. Messrs. Taylor
are also erecting four of their patent travelling
cranes on each side of the second dock, to be used
in lifting and moving the heavy slabs and ribs of
iron used in the construction of the Achilles, 40.
A British squadron, consisting of a three-decker
and three steamers, was off Cape Florida, America,
on the ith.

Vice-Admiral C. R. Moorsom, whose death took
place on Sunday last, was born Sept. 22, 179 2. He
was the eldest son of Sir Robt. Moorsom,K.C.B. of
Whitby. He was educated at the Royal Naval Col-
lege, where he distinguished himselfby gaining the
first medal. He served at the siege of Cadiz as
signal mate, in the Revenge, 74, under the late Sir
C. Paget and Commodore Sir H. Hotham. Re
afterwards held the post of lieutenant in the St.
Alban's, 64, and the Superb, 74 in the blockade of
N ,
ew Lonork.
He commanddon, Long Island Sound, and New York.
the Fury in the attack on Algiers
in 1816, in which that vessel threw more shells
than any other of the vessels engaged. This result
was attained by arrangements which were after-
wards adopted in bombships, by order of the Admi-
ralty. In the Prometheus he was in the exercising
squadron under the late Sir B. Hallowell, and in
the Ariadne he had the Racehorse and the Helicon
under his orders for experiments in the Channel for

some months. After having been senior officer at
the Mauritius and dependencies, he succeeded to the
command of the Andromache and the Cape of Good
Hope squadron on the death of Commodore Nourse.
He was captain of the Prince Regent, bearing the
flag of the late Sir Robert Moorsom, commander-
in-chief in the Medway. To the connection of
Admiral Moorsom with railway companies refer-
ence has been made elsewhere. As resident direc-
tor of the Chester and Holyhead Railway he had
four steampackets 'under his direction at a time
when the attention of the Government and the
public generally was closely directed to the im-
provement of steam navigation and the substitution
of steam for sailing ships. His duties in this office
led him particularly to consider this question, and
to address to the British Association two papers,
the effect of which was the Steamship Performance
Committee, of which he was the chairman, was ap-
pointed. Much of Admiral Moorsom's leisure was
given to the study and exposition of practical naval
science, and he was the author of several treatises
on naval tactics.