The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-23 00:00:00

2IfE NAVY.

On Thursday afternoon there was a meeting at
the Admiralty, Whitehall, of several of the leading
members of the Cabinet. There were present Vis-
count Palmerston, the Duke of Somerset, Sir G.
Grey, Lord Russell, and Mr. Gladstone. The Minis-
ters remained in consultation for upwards of au
hour.
Her Majesty's screw steam vessel Rifleman, 8,
Master Commander J. W. Reed, commissioned for
survey in the Chinese waters, yesterday commenced
receiving her engines of 100 horse power in basin
at Woolwich. A corporal and six privates, Royal
Marines, have been appointed to the receiving hulk
Salsette for service in the Rifleman. The utmost
diligence is ordered to be employed in executing
and completing the fitting of the vessel, so as to
hasten her departure, and enable her to arrive at
her destination before the stormy season in those
latitudes shall have set in.

The Severn, 51, 400 horse power, attached to the
second-class steam reserve at Chatham, is to be
brought forward for the first division, to take the
place of the Phaeton, 51, 400 horse power, which
has been despatched to the Gulf of Mexico. The
masts, yards, spars, and gear of the Severn are to
be sent from Chatham dockyard to Sheerness,where
she is to be fitted, by the two mortar vessels selected
from the fleet lying in Yantlett-creek, which are to
be used as dockyard transports. The Newcastle, 51,
600 horse power, now attached to the third division
of the steam reserve in the Medway, is to take the
place of the Severn in the second division.
The Orion, 91, 600 horse power, was yesterday
removed into the great basin at Sheerness and
placed under the masting shears for the purpose of
having her masts taken out. She is to be supplied
with new boilers as soon as the opportunity occurs
for doing so. Her new boilers have been ready at
plieerness for some time.
:,,The Duncan, old lazaret ship, for many years
emplOyed on the quarantine service at Standgate
Creek, Chatham, is to be broken up at Chatham
dockyard. and not at Sheerness, as previously
ordered. Her place will be supplied by the Mino-
taur, old 74 gun line-of-battle ship, now attached
to the sailing reserve in the Medway.
The new screw steam sloop Zebra, 17, 200 horse,
has been docked at Sheerness, to be brought forward
for the reserve. She is to have ratchet plates fitted
to her stern post.

The Thames Iron Shipbuilding Company have
entered into a contract with the Admiralty to sup-
ply forged iron armour plates for the Royal Oak,
51, screw frigate, building at Chatham, at the rate
of £35 per ton. The edges of each of the armour
plates are to be planed. In addition to the contract
of the Thames Shipbuilding Company, the firm of
Beale and Co., Parkgate Ironworks, Yorkshire, have
entered into a contract with the Admiralty to sup-
ply rolled armour plates for the same frigate.
The jumna, 16, which is ordered to be fitted at
Chatham for a guardship and store depot in the La-
gas lagoon, Coast of Africa, is to be armed with two
light 32-pounder guns on each broadside. The
necessary fittings are to be made for the requisite
quantity of ammunition.
Lieut. Henry Chad Cattley, second in command
of Fane's Irregular Cavalry, who was gazetted on
Tuesday evening to accept and wear the insignia
of the Legion of Honour, for distinguished services
in the recent operations in China, is a son of the
Rev. S. R. Cattley, of St. John's, Clapham-rise.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Commander G. Skipwith,
to the Castor, additional for service in the Brilliant,
for Royal Naval Reserve ; Commander Robert H.
Burton, to the Orpheus; Lieut. Arthur Jekyll, to
the Orpheus, additional for disposal on the Antra..
Tian station ; Mr. Robert C. Jolliffe, to the Edgar ;

John B. Nicoll, acting assist.-surg., to the Swallow;
Wm. Lovely, assist: paymaster, to the Forte, as
secretary's clerk; Edward R. Nettleton, clerk, to
the Edgar; Charles F. Goolden, master's assistant,
to the Trafalgar ; Hugh R. Gair, engineer from tho
Indus, to the Asia as supernumerary ; George M.
Dooley, acting engineer on the Asia, for the Jasper,
confirmed; John E. Warner, confirmed as second-
class assist.-engineer in the Marlborough, and John
Hancock (B), confirmed as second-class assist.-en-
gineer in the Majestic.