The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-10 00:00:00

THE NAPY.

A letter from Malta, under date of the 3d of
May, announces the arrival on the day previous of
her Majesty's corvette Racoon, Capt. C. W. Cham-
berlain, from Jaffa, and the departure, the same
afternoon, of her Majesty's ship Mars, Capt. J. N.
Strange, for Beyrout. No further movements had
taken place among her Majesty's ships since the
Ist inst. The American corvette Iroquois, Capt.
Palmer, was to leave Malta on the 4th instant for
Tunis. Her Majesty's ships in Malta harbour ou
the 3d were the Liffey frigate, bearing the flag of
Vice-Admiral W. Fanshawe Martin, the Comman-
der-in-Chief; the Hibernia, receiving-ship (bearing
the flag of Rear-Admiral H. J. Codrington, C. 8.),
St. Jean d'Acre, line-of-battle ship; the Doris, fri-
gate; the Racoon, corvette ; the Alacrity, Lapwing,
Assurance, Intrepid, and Quail gunboats; and the
tug hearty.

Her Majesty's paddlewheel steam sloop Cyclops,
6, 320-horse power, Capt. W. J. S Ptillen, arrived
at Sheerness on Wednesday evening from the East
Indies and China, and saluted the flag of Vice-Ad-
miral W. J. Hope Johnstone, Commander-in-Chief
at the Nore. Yesterday the Cyclops was inspected
by the Vice-Admiral, who expressed himself in
highly satisfactory terms of the appearance of that
vessel, after being so long a time in commission.
The Cyclops will immediately commence stripping,
preparatory to be being paid off. She has been in
commission nearly four years.
Her Majesty's ship Rhadamanthus, Mr. Sturdee,
master commanding, from the Clyde, with engine
gear for the screw steam frigate Bristol, yesterday
went alongside the Royal Arsenal-pier at Woolwich
to land 36 old fortress guns and carriages brought
from Dumbarton Castle.

The paddlewheel steam sloop Driver, commis-
sioned at Woolwich for service in the Atlantic, yes-
terday unshipped her heavy pivot gun—a 68-poun-
der, weighing 95cwt.—to be replaced by a 100-
pounder Armstrong gun.
The hired transports Black Eagle and Rambler,
laden with military stores from Woolwich, yester-
day sailed for Halifax and Demerara.
The steam gunboat Louisa, 2, 60 horse power,
returned to Chatham harbour on Wednesday even-
ing, having been as far as the Maplin Sands for the
trial of her engines since the alterations effected at
Chatham dockyard in her machinery and screw.
The trial, which was under the direction of Mr. T.
Baker, chief engineer and inspector •of machinery
at Chatham, and some others of the officials of that
establishment, was considered on the whole very
satisfactory.
Yesterday preparations were commenced at Cha.
tham dockyard for building the temporary dam
which is to be placed at the entrance of No. 2 dock
in lieu of the present caisson, in order that addi-
tional space may be obtained for the building of the
large mail-clad steamer Achilles, 40. The length
of the second dock, in which it is intended to build
the new iron war steamer, is 336 feet, but by the
substitution of a dam for the caisson now at the
entrance an addition of 20 feet will be gained. The
steam travelling cranes which are in the course of
erection along each side of the dock by Messrs.
Taylor and Co., of the Britannia Works, Birken-
head, will be completed in the course of a few
weeks. These machines are of the most powerful
description, and capable of lifting the heaviest por-
tion of the iron work which will be used in the
construction of the new frigate. A considerable
portion of the machinery required in building
the Achilles has arrived at the dockyard from the
contractors, but a great deal has yet to be
fact,
teiveade
before the ship can be commenced ;
he Achilles
chief delay in the commencement of
.
has arisen from the non-arrival ofhtenepresent time
scriptions of machinery.
mechanics have made ap
employed on the
only comparatively few
they apply
platers plication at the dockyard t° be ttVhaeril
auuramedbeae-tr
new frigate, but good
are to be upwards of 1,000
once taken on. As there
berdeidagmtilliset Abechilles
G louvbe
tr
enemr
se nf
for
r tintend
hveerNy , a when
vlaargleß.
Reserve
esruvfe.
of men
Ir at
statermechanics ini3ise employed
oh e
voon the 'west coast of Wales, to
„di enrolled
t battery of volunteers
Aberystwith, or have a gunboat
erecthfi ac iveen
ab
stationed there during the period of drill. The
urge space in Milford Raven between Hazlebeach
and the Wear Point will in future be called the