The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-08 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

Her Majesty's paddlewheel steam yacht Osborne,
-Master Commander Bower, was yesterday ordered
to hold herself in readiness for the conveyance of
the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia to embark
from Greenhithe for the Continent.
Sir R. M. Bromley, K.C.8., Accountant-General
of the Navy, yesterday transacted business in
Woolwich Dockyard, and inspected the Audit-
offices recently organised under the new regulations
issued by the Admiralty, as a check on the general
expenditure of the yard. The principal clerks ap-
pointed to the office are Mr. Walker and Mr. Fit-
tack, from the Accountant's Department.
The following vessels have been chartered for the
War Department, to ship stores from Woolwich
Arsenal—namely, the Arabella for Corfu, Herring-
ton for Algoa Bay, Silistria for Cape Town, Kin-
naird for Auckland, Syria for Port Natal, Strath-
more for Freemantle, Venetia for Adelaide, Agrip-
pina for Malta, Epsom for Simon's Town, England's
Rose for St. Lucia, Stephen and Sarah for Baha-
mas, Ituckers for Trinidad, Eclipse for Mauritius,
Catharine Pemberton for Bermuda, Clifton for
Brisbane (Australia), Severn for Colombo, Constance
for Barbadoes, Sinope for East London, and Coral
Queen for Bermuda.

Orders have been received at Portsmouth from the
Admiralty for the immediate removal of the naval
cadet training-ship Britannia, Capt. Robert Harris,
from that port to Portland. The Master-Attendant's
department at Portsmouth Dockyard are ordered to
lay down permanent moorings for the Britannia at
Portland, so that as soon as they are ready for use
the ship may be towed down to her new station.
The order for the Britannia's removal was not
totally unexpected at Portsmouth, owing to several
circumstances which have recently taken place, but
it will of necessity inflict a serious loss upon the
trade of Portsmouth, the extent of which may be
surmised when we state that the Britannia is esti-
mated to cease, directly or indirectly, £30,000 per
annum to be spent in the town and its neighbour-
hood. The Britannia is moored in the most un-
healthy part of Portsmouth harbour, and has been
kept there in spite of some isolated cases of fever
which have occurred, and which at the time raised
a great outcry from the friends of the youths on
board. This obstinacy of officials in keeping the
ship moored in a position that was, to say the least,
of doubtful salubrity, has been probably justified
by the fact of 'the average sickness on board the Bri-
tannia having been less than in most of the public
or large private schools. As might have been fore-
seen, this perverseness is at length forced to give
way, and the ship, instead of being moved to a more
healthy position in the port, is now to be removed
from the port altogether.
Sir Richard Mayne, K.C.8., Chief Commissioner
of Police, yesterday visited the police educational
class-room in Portsmouth dockyard.
The Chanticleer, 17, screw, in the reserve at Ports-
mouth, tested her machinery yesterday outside the
harbour with satisfactory results.

The Shannon, 51, screw, in the first-class reserve
at Portsmouth, rigged, sto:ed and armed, is ordered
to be held ready for immediate commission.
The War Department transport Bomarsund was
yesterday taken under the steam crane at the Ord-
nance wharf, Chatham, and landed a number of the
8 inch and 32 pounder cast-iron guns from the
screw line-of-battle steamer Orion, Capt. Frere,
which is being dismantled at the Nore previously
to being put out of commission; The Marlborough,
War Department transport, also landed at the Ord-
nance wharf some of the heavier description of ord-
nance from the Orion, consisting of 10 inch and 68
pounders, the whole of which will be forwarded to
Woolwich to have their vents repaired before they
are again issued. The powder and shell taken out
of the Orion have been deposited in the powder
magazines at Upnor Castle.
The screw steam frigate Leander, 51, 400 horse
Power, was unable to complete her trial trip on
Wednesday for the purpose of testing her engines
and machinery, and was compelled to return to
Sheerness harbour, in consequence of a very unto-
ward accident which occurred on board. The
Leander had just reached the measured mile at
Maplin Sands, when Mr. G. Bethwick, who was
superintending the trial on the part of the manu-
facturers of the engines, in descending into the
engine room was precipitated among the machinery
in motion, receiving very severe injuries to his right
hand. Unfortunately, there was no medical man
on board, and the frigate was accordingly put
about, and reached Sheerness harbour in the after-
noon. Mr. Bethwick was immediately conveyed
on board the Cumberland, 70, flagship of Captain
Schomberg, commanding the steam reserve, where
a portion of the right hand was at once amputated.
The sufferer is now doing well. There is little
doubt the Leander will prove an exceedingly fast
frigate, the average rate of speed on Wednesday
being 104 knots, the screw making 51 revolutions
per minute.

The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Commander Henry D.
Hinckley, to the Gladiator ; Lieut. John Gilby, to
the Gladiator; S. H. Orlebar and R. Leith, naval
cadets, to the Gladiator ; C. C. Wood, F. Papillon,
and J. E. Symons, naval cadets, to the Orpheus;
J. W. Steil, acting chief engineer, transferred from
the Fisgard to the Indus, as supernumerary ; and J.
Stacey, acting second master additional, to the Im-
pregnable, for service in the Pike.