The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-09 00:00:00

TEE NAVY.

The Defiance, on of the large class 90-guns
steam-screw, is to be launched from Pembroke
Royal Dockyard on Wednesday, 27th proximo.
She is as long as the Howe, and is a perfect model
of her class.

The Mega3ra, screw troopship, Commander Hen-
derson, arrived at Portsmouth yesterday morning
from Woolwich, and after embarking the Artillery
undermentioned, sailed in the evening for Alder-
ney :—Captains C. Johnstone and H. Frame; Lieu.
tenants J. S. Jones, H. F. A. Brodie, and A. F.
Jenkins; 212 non-commissioned officers and gunners;
39 women, and 36 children, part of the 15th Bri-
gade. From the Channel Islands it is expected the
Mega3ra will proceed to Devonport.
Her Majesty's Royal paddle yacht Victoria and
Albert received her masts yesterday under the
steam basin slicers in Portsmouth Dockyard. The
Osborne yacht was yesterday removed from No. S
Dock and placed in the steam basin.

The Rolla, naval apprentices' brig at Portsmouth,
Lieut.-Commander Nelson, has been undocked at
Portsmouth and berthed in the harbour to complete
her outfit for summer service. The Cracker gun-
boat was afterwards placed in the same dock whence
the Rolla had been removed.

The Octavia, 51, converting in No. 9 dock at
Portsmouth, from a sailing frigate to a screw, has
received her screw-shaft and coupling. She is
ordered for undocking on the Ist of next month.
The undermentioned have been nominated to
naval cadetships :—Benjamin Dyke Acland, W.
Forster Carslake, F. W. Cobb, C. G. Quinton Crau-
furd, E. G. Elwes, Frederick H. Johnstone, Edgar
Kitson, W. Llewllyn Morrison, Hugh Fitzroy
Pretyman, Henry Peareth Skinner, William
Nichols Willink, and Alexander Dampier Woodd.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. F. G. Shaw, to the
Weser; Lieut. J. J. Gregory, to the Princess Royal;
Lieut. A. C. S. Blackett, to the Edinburgh ; George
H. Blakey, master, additional, to the Fisgard, for
the Warrior; Thomas Hart, master, to the Aboukir;
John W. Wilson, acting first class assist. engineer,
to the Weser; Edwin G. Ashworth, second class
assist. engineer to the Cumberland, for charge of the
Cochin ; Richard Oliver, third class assist. engi-
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STATISTICS OF SERFDOM IN RU3SIaI.

An official report as to the number of serfs in
the Russian dominions has just been published,
her more than
from which the following statistical account is
" According to the last census (in .1858 59)
Europeangleaned Russia, Siberia, Transcaucasiaanwdoinrat
con-
tained 67,081,167 people, of whom
, cent.
824,71 were serfs,
males ;
tnamely,ogetner
11,244,913 males,
Of these 22,558,748 were. •
3an9dpelrl 23,069,631 souls.
4,338 in Siberia, and 506,54 n European Russia,
Landed proprietors own 22 2 5 in the Caucasus.
, 84,876, while the re-
mainder are attached to certain Government pro-
perties. In proportion the greatest number of serfs
are in the governments
Podolia (1,0i,.t,_0 _ of Kiew (1,121,062), and
Siberia. ln .51), the smallest number being in.
the government of St. Petersburg
there are 260,292 ; in Moscow, 621,312. As regards
the •
ploptietership of these people, 3,703 nobility
Without estates possess 12,286 males, and 103,194
landed proprietors possess 10,683,853 lma es, of
whom there are in European Russia 103,158 pro-
prietors owning 10,682,400 souls. In 1859,44,166
estates and 7,107,184 serfs were mortgaged for the
sum of 425,503,061 silver roubles—that is to sal',
more than two fifths of the estates and two-thirds
.of all the serfs owned by the proprietors. In the
years 1856 to 1859 alone 600,000 human beings
were mortgaged."
It is stated that already several general officers
and adjutants have been designated by the Emperor
to proceed to the different governments to superin-
tend the execution of the ukase for decreeing the
emancipation, and to explain the difficult points
and draw up reports. The commissioners are also
armed with military executive powers.