The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-16 00:00:00

THE7,_PSITN; LONDON, THURSDAY EVENPfGar, MAY IA 1861,

One of the naval Armstrong guns,loo-pounder,
similar to the one supplied to the Driver at Wool-
wich, under orders for the coast of America, is about
to be forwarded td' the Challenger at Sheerness,
likewise ordered for the coast of America.

Commander G. H. Gardner, C. W. Hope, J. C.
Byng, I. Bythesea, and H. T. Burgoyne, were
yesterday promoted to be Captains ; and Lieu-
tenants P. G. Nettleton, U. T. W. G. Ceyat, W.
Pvm. A Morrell, J. H. Bushnell, F. Hardy, C.
13. C. Dent, a. C. Vvered, H. C. Mayne, and
C. A. P. V. Robinson, to be commanders.

The following appointments were also made at
the Admiralty:—Edward E. Williams, third-
class assistant-engineer, to the Rhadamanthus;
Thomas Ritchie and William A. Stewart, third-
class assistant-engineers, to the Ariadne, con-
firmed; Edward Tesdall, assistant-paymaster, to
the Donegal; and Alexander G. Young, assistant-
paymaster, to the Donegal.

Ti.LE ARMY. ,

The Alfred, hired troopship, Captain Pope, ar-
rived at Spithead yesterday, from China, with a
detachment of the Ist battalion 2d (Queen's
Royals) Regiment on board. She sailed from
Hongkong on 20th December, 1860, and from the
Cape of Good Hope on the 3d of March, 1861. Her
voyage from the Cape has been long and tedious,
from the long continuance :of light east winds.
She will be towed into Portsmouth Harbour this
morning, and land the troops at the dockyard to
join head quarters in Portsmouth garrison.
The York, hired troopship, Captain Redpath,
arrived at Spithead yesterday from China, with a
detachment of the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers)
Regiment on board, under the command of Cap-
tain ,William Hanmer. The York sailed from
Hong Kong on the 21st December, 1860, and from
St. Helena on the Bth of March. All news by this
vessel, as in the case of the Alfred, has been antici-
pated from the Cape and St. Helena. Four deaths
took place during the voyage home.

PUBLIC BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE 01?
LORDS.

The following Report from the Select Committee
of the House of Lords, appointed to consider " whe-
ther, by any alterations in the forms and proceed-
ings of this House, the despatch of public business
can be more effectually promoted," was issued yes.
terday :
" The Committee are of opinion that the forms
and practice of this house are well calculated to pre-
vent delay in the passing of bills, or in the trans-
action of other business ; but the house has had
frequently to regret that bills have been sent up by
the other House of Parliament at so late-a period
of the session as to render it impossible to give them
that full consideration which the public interests
require. That this is not a novel complaint is proved
by the Standing Order of May 5, 1668, and the
subsequent proceedings of this house. It appears
to the Committee that two modes of remedying this
evil may be suggested ; either that some portion of
the legislation which now originates in the House
of Commons should commence in this house, or that
some alteration should be made in the forms and
proceeding's of the other house which would enable
it to devote more time and attention to legislative
measures during the early part of the session. The
Committee would observe that, independently of
financial measures, which begin as of course in the
House of Commons, the representative character of
that house renders it expedient that some other classes
of important bills should first be discussed there, and
should be reviewed rather than proposed in this
house. It is obvious ;hat the course of proceeding
by which such measures may be so expedited in
their passage through the other house, so as to
allow of their full consideration by the Lords, and
to enable the Common and this House afterwards
to give duo attention o any amendment which may
have been proposed there, must rest entirely with
the House of Commons itself. In pursuance, how-
ever, of the power giNen to them, the Committee
directed their chairman to place himself in commu-
nication with the chairman of the Committee in the
Commons on the business of the house, with a view
to facilitate the co-operation of the House of Lords
in any arrangements which might require the joint
action of the two horses. They also authorised
him to make the following suggestions :
"1. That it is expedient, in certain cases, to
adopt an abridged form of proceeding with refer-
ence to bills which stall be again brought before
the house after having been passed by it is the im-
mediately preceding session of the same Parlia-
ment.

"2. That the bills in respect to which such
abridged form of proceeding may be adopted shall
be, mutatis ?nutandis, the same bills which this
house may have passed and sent to the other house,
and as to which that house may have resolved that
there did not remain time for their due considera-
tion in the session in which they were received.
"3. That on .a resolution being moved that it is
expedient again to pats and to send to the other

Her Majesty's line-of-battle sailing ship Ganges,
84, which was paid off at Sheerness yesterday, was
commissioned at Sheerness on the 25th of .Tune,
1857. After sailing from Sheerness in July of the
same year the Ganges proceeded to the Pacific,
where bhe has been cruising the greater portion of
the time which has elapsed since then. While she
has been on commission her crew, which numbered
750, have been generally healthy, and there have
been comparatively few deaths among them. The
officers, from the captain downwards, speak in ex-
ceedingly high terms of their excellent conduct and
good behaviour. The fallowing petty officers and
seamen have been selected to receive the silver
medal and gratuity awarded by the Admiralty
for exemplary conduct, viz. :—Thomas Hales, car-
penter's mate ; Cornelius Divers, captain of the
mast; Joseph Wren, yeoman of signals; Peter Cole-
man, captain's coxswain ; Edward Arnold, gunner's
mate ; and William Chambers and James Dolby,
Royal Marincs. George Fry receives the medal
without the gratuity. Prior to the Ganges being
paid off the crew were mustered by Capt. Fulford
and addressed by him, after which a number of
Turkish medals, awarded by the Turkish Govern-
ment to those seamen belonging to the Ganges who
served in the Crimea, were distributed to upwards
of 100 of the crew by Mrs. Fulford. The continuous
service men, who form the greater part of those on
board, have been granted seven weeks run ashore
by the Admiralty, at the expiration of which period
they will join one of the guardships at either of
the naval ports. The Ganges will now be attached
to the sailing reserve in ordinary at Chatham.
The War Department transport Bomarsund, W.
Spicer, commander, arrived at Upnor Castle, Chat-
ham, yesterday, and land,Fd the powder and shells
from the line-of-battle screw steamer Cressy, 80,
400-horse power.
A further delivery of the patent Admiralty sig-
nal lanterns, introduced by Mr. Ward, of Auburn,
United States, termed the " Ocean Marine Tele-
graph," was yesterday received at Woolwich. The
compactness of the apparatus, the case, in which
a complete set of lanterns is packed ready for im-
mediate use, being only 18 inches square, was much
admired. The officials and signalmen remarked that
with the powerful burners of this (No. 3) pattern
eignals might be transmitted intelligibly over a sea
range of upwards of 20 miles in ordinarily clear
weather, and might be used with profit as day sig-
nals also, it being a readier method than that of
flags, in consequence of the lanterns facilitating a
much more rapid means of communication both
afloat and ashore at short ranges, the shades form-
ing the three great contrasts of red, white, and
black. It further transpired during the inspection
that the new system is in course of being adopted
by the continental Governments and the navies of
Europe generally. Orders have already been exe-
cuted for the Swedish Government, and the manu-
facturers are now engaged in completing an eaten-
sive commission for the Russian navy. Mr. Ward,
having terminatedhis arrangements for a continued
supply at Woolwich, will leave in a few days to
submit his system to the Minister of Marine at
Paris. Notwithstanding the universal adaptation of
the system, it was yesterday stated that in the event
of war a special code appropriate to each individual
nation can be made use of, without the possibility
of the signals being read be 3 and the privileged circle.
The Black Eagle, tender to the flagship at Wool-
wich, is under orders to sail this morning for Os-
tend to receive Prince Frederic William Louis of
Hesse Darmstadt, betrothed to the Princess Alice.
In consequence of the Admiralty not having the
flag of Hesse British colours only will be hoisted
on board the Black Eagle.