The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-30 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

Rear-Admiral Robert Smart removed his flag on
Saturday at Plymouth from the Revenge, 91, to the
paddlewheel steam-sloop Virago, 6, Commander 11.
Johnsen, and in the afternoon left the Sound for
Queenstown.

The Warrior, 40, iron frigate, Capt. the Hon. A.
A. Cochrane, C. 8., at Portsmouth, having completed
the fitment of her temporary iron tiller, it is intended
to take her out of the harbour to-day or to-morrow
under steam, for the purpose of testing the new til-
ler's powers upon the rudder.
The Pandora, 5, screw, Lieut. the Hon. J. T. Fitz-
maurice (of the Majestic, 80, screw), sailed from
Portsmouth on Saturday for Liverpool, where she
will be attached` to her Majesty's snip Majestic,
from which ship 40 men came to navigate her round
to Liverpool. Prior to leaving Portsmouth *she
took in her powder and shell. She also took on
board her mooring anchors, chains, and buoy, to be
laid down for her in the Mersey. This vessel also
received before leaving two 25 pounder Armstrong
guns, in addition to naval stoles, &c. The gun-
boats Amelia, Lieut. Cheyne, and Escort, Lieut.
Woodman, also sailed from Portsmouth for the same
destination at 8 o'clock the previous evening.
The Edgar, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral
Sydney Colpoy llacres, C. 8., second in command
on the North American and West India station, is
expected to sail from Spithead this morning, call-
ing at Lisbon. This ship was to have sailed from
Spithead last Monday, but has been detained by
reason of a court-martial sitting on board the Vic-
tory, flag ship at Portsmouth, to try one of her first
class petty officers. As the charges compelled the
attendance of Capt. Mends as prosecutor, and seve-
ral witnesses belonging to the ship, her detention
was absolutely necessary to carry out the ends of
justice, although it is much to bo regretted that
a ship like the Edgar should be kept at Spithead
for nearly a week on account of the gross miscon-
duct of a quartermaster.
The Terrible, 21, paddle frigate, Capt. Glasse,
C. 8., arrived at Spithead yesterday morning from
the Mediterranean. She sailed from Malta on the
11th inst., arrived at Gibraltar on the 18th, and
sailed again thence on the 22d. The Amphion, screw
frigate, sailed the same day for Lisbon. Fine wea-
ther was experienced as far as Ushant, when strong
north-east gales were met with, which continued up
to the time of reaching Spithead, where she awaits
orders.

The Chanticleer, screw steam-sloop, Commander
Stirling, has received orders to be held in readiness
to proceed to the North American station.
At Chatham the utmost despatch is being exhi-
bited in embarking the supplies of shot and shell,
together with the guns, required for the various
vessels fitting for commission at Chatham and
Sheerness. On Saturday the War Department ten-
der Bomarsund was placed alongside the centre
wharf, and during the day shipped 12 of the large
10-in. 95cwt. cast iron guns, together with four 100-
pounder Armstrongs, carriages, sights, screws, &c.,
for the Galater, 26, 800-horse power, which will
also receive two more Armstrongs and eight cast-
iron guns. The advanced gun-vessels belonging to
the first-class steam reserve in the Medway, in-
tended for the gunboat flotilla, have also been fully
equipped from the Cnatham stores, and in addition
to being furnished each with a 100-pounder and
40-pounder Armstrong, together with a quantity of
shot and shell, each gunboat took on board a num-
ber of short sea rifles and sword bayonets; as well
as a supply of small arms. Transports arrive almost
daily at the Ordnance-wharf from Woolwich with
supplies of shot and shell, chiefly of the Armstrong
kind, for distribution to the various ships. A few
days since 1,400 empty 8 in. shells and 100 32-
pounder hollow shot were despatched from Chat-
ham to Woolwich. Large supplies of tents and
blankets have also been issued from the stores for
the use of the troops proceeding to Canada.
The screw frigate Galatea, 26, 800. horse power,
having nearly completed fitting, was on Saturday
towed out of Chatham harbour by the Adder and
Monkey steamers, and removed to Folly Point,
where she will be stationed for a short time, when,
according to present arrangements, she will pro-
ceed to Devonport. Most of her stores aro on
board, and she only awaits the appointment of her
officers and crew to be ready to proceed to any part
of the world. She shipped her spare fan on
Friday. Admiralty instructions were on Saturday
received at Chatham by Col. Rea, commandant of
the division of Royal Marine Light Infantry,direct-
ing 50 additional men of the Royal Marines to be
employed in the dockyard in assisting to complete
the iron steamers Defence and Galatea.

The Rattlesnake, 21, 400-horse pDwer, at Chat-
ham, had her topmasts on Saturday, and is rigging
as rapidly as that work can be performed by the
riggers of the establishment. She is to be ready
for sea by the middle of January, when it is under-
stood she will be despatched to the West Indies, or
some portion of the seaboard of America.

The Royal Adelaide, 104, flagship of Rear Ad-
miral Sir Thomas Pasley, second in command at
Devonport, will be paid off to•morrow (Tuesday)
and recommissioned the following day for the flag
of the commander in chief, Vice Admiral Sir Hous-
ton Stewart.

The Impregnable, 101, Captain Vesey, at present
carrying the flag of the commander in chief, is also
to be paid off the same day, and recommissioned on
Wednesday by Captain W. K. Hall, to take the
place of the Royal Adelaide, es a training ship. Sir
Thomas Pasley will hoist his flag on board the
Indus, guard ship of steam ordinary, pro. tem.
The ordets for the Emerald, 61, screw, Captain
A. Cumming, at Plymouth, to proceed to the North
American station, have been countermanded, and
she is under orders to proceed to Liverpool in con-
voy of the Amelia and Escort, two gun boats, to be
employed as tenders to the Majestic, at that port.
The Emerald awaits the arrival of the gun boats
from the eastward.

The iron frigate Defence, 16, is to be put out of
No. 3 dock, at Chatham, on Thursday next, to be
masted with iron tubular masts. These aro made
of the best iron and are nearly half an inch in thick-
ness each. Each of them has iron hooping inside,
which adds materially to their strength. It is said
that shot will not affect them on being struck, un-
less in close quarters.

VALETTA, bee. 23.—The event of the week in
this garrison has been the execution of the gunner
John Edwards, of the 3d Brigade Royal Artillery,
for having fired his carbine at Capt. Keate. At his
trial by general court-martial he made no defence,
gave no reason for the act, and expressed no regret
at having committed it. He was about 30 years of
ago, and bore an indifferent character in the corps
to which he belonged. He is said to have served in
the Royal Marines, but little is known of his past
history. In the condemned cell he continued to main-
tain a dogged silence, simply replying " Yes," or
"No," to the questions put to him. The execution was
witnessed by the entire garrison on Friday morning
last. The highest points of the walls and the tops of
the houses were crowded with anxious spectators.
The prisoner appeared at a few minutes before eight
o'clock, his arms pinioned to his sides, and in
the undress of a gunner of Artillery. After his
eyes had been bandaged by the Provost-Marshal the

' firing party, consisting of 12 artillerymen, whose
carbines had been previously loaded, 6 with ball and
6 with blank cartridge, advanced within 10 paces of
of the prisoner, who was resting on his right knee
with his face towards them. At prwoncerted sig-
nals they raised their carbines and discharged them
at the culprit. Death seemed instantaneous, but that
no doubt should exist the Provost-Marshal, accord-
ing to custom, discharged a pistol at the body. The
whole of the troops in this command proceeded on
Monday last to the Bay of Marsascirocco, for the
purpose of preventing the landing of a supposed
enemy. On this occasion the troops were in full
marching order, and presented a splendid appear-
ance. Eight guns accompanied the different brigades,
six 9-pounders and two 6 pounders, and were drawn
by the mules of the Commissariat Train. The troops
were distributed over a front of several miles. At 1
o'clock a shell was fired from the fort on the shores
of the bay as a signal for the general engagement to
begin. This fOrt then opened its heavy guns,
which it continued to fire for an hour and a half.
At half-past one the field-pieces opened a rapid fire
on the advancing enemy, who were supposed to have
effected a landing, while the small arms kept up a
well-sustained fusillade until two o'clock, when the
troops, still fighting, fell back on their supports. At
•half-past two the supposed enemy were compelled
to retire to their ships.‘ A great number of car-
riages and pedestrians of all sorts followed the
troops, giving the scene more the character of a re-
turnfron4he Derby than a field-day. Her Majesty's
ship Marlboiough, 131, left port on Friday morning
last to try her Armstrong guns, and returned on
the following day. The Foxhound, 4, Commander
the Hon. A. C. Hobart, goes out to-day for the same
purpose. The Growler, 3, Lieut.-Commander H.
E. Crozier, returned from Sulina on the 18th inst.,
having been relieved there by the Cockatrice. The
Aboukir, 89, Capt. Shadwell, left port for Gibraltar
on the 18th inst. The Megtera, steam troopship,
Commander Henderson, which had received orders
to proceed home under sail, afterwards received
counter-orders to remain here, to have her broken
intermediate shaft patched up by the artificers of
the dockyard. This accordingly having been dono,
she left on Saturday last for England. She took
with her the following passengers :—Mr. Eldridge
and family; Captain Cardew, 23 soldiers, 6 women,
and 11 children; Mrs. Pring, Mrs. Weld, and son,
and invalids from Corfu. The Megmra conveyed a
detachment of the 4th Regiment from Corfu to
Zante, and took back to Corfu from Zante a detach-
ment of the 9th. The exchange of the detachment
of the 9th Regt. at Cephalonia was prevented: by
the accident to her shaft. Her Majesty's ships at
Corfu, by last accounts, were the London, 89 ; the
Victor Emmanuel, 89; and the Scylla, 22. Her
Majesty's ship Neptune, Captain Hornby, arrived
at Malta yesterday from Syracuse. Her Majesty's
ships in pert are the Marlborough, 131 (flag-
ship of Vice-Admiral Sir W. F. Martin, K.C.8.) ;
the Hibernia, receiving ship (flagship of Rear-Ad-
miral H. J. Codrington, C.B. ; the Neptune, 89; the
James Watt, 89; the Medina, surveying vessel; the
Firefly, ditto ; the Wanderer, 4 ; the Foxhound, 4 ;
the Growler, 3 ; and the Hearty, tug. Advices from
Gibraltar to the 17th instant announce the arrival
of the Amphion, 36, from Sicily; the Racoon, 22,
from Malta; the Alacrity, 4, from Malta ; the Liffey,
51, from Palermo; the Firebrand, 6, from Malta;
the Algiers, 89, from Malta; and the Queen, 80,
also from Malta. There were besides on that sta-
tion the Procris, 3, and the Cuckoo, 3. The Racoon
continued on her way to England on the 14th inst.
The Liffey was to proceed in a day or two to Hali-
fax, Nova Scotia. The Algiers was to remain for
the present at Gibraltar, and hoist, it is said, the
flag of Bear-Admiral Dacres, C.B. The Queen, it
was reported, was to proceed to Bermuda."
A ponderous .machiee, weiglgng nearly 20 tons,
has to-day been received at Cliathita dockyard, from
the eminent engineert Messrs. Westwood, Baillie,
Campbell and Co. It is intended to be used for the
purpose of bending the immense armour plates
which arc to be used in the construction of the
Achilles and the Royal Oak, and of course of other
vessels of the same class which may hereafter be
built at this establishment. Some idea of the enor-
mous strength required in this machine may be
formed from the fact that the sheets of iron with
which the sides of these vessels will be covered will
be about four and a half inches in thickness.

The fine steam transports St. Andrew, Capt.
Dutton, belonging to the Montreal Mail Packet
Company, and the Calcutta, No. 8, Capt. Wright,
chartered for the conveyance of troops and war
stores to British North America, took up berths
alongside the T-pier at Woolwich, on Saturday,
from Glasgow and Deptford, and were officially in-
spected by Major Field, Deputy-Assist Quarter-
master Gen. Royal Artillery. The Calcutta has been
thoroughly fitted at Deptford, and both vessels
afford excellent and roomy accommodation. The
nominal burden of each vessel is 2,000 and 1,500
tons. The Victoria and Adelaide, vessels of a simi-
lar class, laden with victualling stores and munitions
of war, were towed down to Greenhithe from Dept-
ford on Saturday to be swung, preparatory to their
departure. The Calcutta, the first for sea, yesterday
embarked No. 8 battery of the fourth field brigade
Royal Artillery, lately arrived at Woolwich from
Aldershot, consisting of Capt. H. A. Smyth, Capt.
W. J. Hall ; Liouts E. H. Wickham, A. H. Maclean,
and E. Clayton ; Assist.- Surg. A. S. K. Prescott ;
Vet.-Surg. Meyrack, and 262 non-commissioned
officers and men. The battery assembled on parade
yesterday morning soon after 8 o'clock for inspec-
tion, and, having been addressed as to the nature of
the expedition on which they were about to depart
by Gen. Sir Richard Dacres, they marched on board
at 9, in readiness to sail by the early tide this morn-
ing. Since the death of the Prince Consort the
bands have ceased attending the embarkation of the
troops. In addition to the above named battery of
Royal Artillery, Mr. Bagnall, Mr. Greigg, and four
sergeant conductors of stores, belonging to the
storekeeper's department at Woolwich, and a num-
ber of non-commissioned officers, appointed to drill
the Canadian Militia, took passage in the Calcutta.
The storekeeper's department was engaged during
the whole of yesterday in shipping the residue of her
freight, consisting of 120 tons of Armstrong shot,
the 12-pounder battery of rifled guns and their ap-
purtenances. There was also embarked an ample
provision of warm military clothing, consisting of
for each man two pairs of woollen drawers,
one sheepskin overcoat, one pair of sealskin mits,
one pair of Canadian boots, two pairs of worsted
stockings, one sealskin cap with ear mufflers, ono
chamois leather waistcoat, one comforter, one jer-
Bey, and two merino under vests. •