The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-06 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

A Malta correspondent writes from Valletta,
March 31, as follows :
" Her Majesty's gunboat Alacrity, Commander J. K. E.
Baird, returned to Malta on the 24th inst. from the Piraaus,
and the Scourge corvette, Commander W. G. Jones, on the
29th, from Corfu. The Hannibal, 91, Capt. A. Farquhar,
bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral G. R. Mundy, left port
on the 2Sth inst. for Beyrout, and the James Watt, 91,
Captain E. Codd, took her departure on the same day for
Corfu. These ships would have left a few days earlier, but
were detained by the bad state of the weather. Advices
have been received from Beyrout, announcing the arrival
there of her Majesty's ship Queen, 86; Capt. C. F. Hillyar,
and it was expected she would be j3itled by two or three
other ships shortly. The Hannibal took up with her the
following officers belonging to ships at present in those
waters—namely, Lieut. G. P. Nettleton, Lieut. M. B.
Medlycott, Lieut. W. J. Walker, and Mr. A. Kinsman. A
French man-of mar, the steam frigate Zenobie, Capt. De-
voulx (carrying the flag of Rear-Admiral Touchard), arrived
here on the 28th inst., bound for the East, from Toulon.
On entering port the usual salutes were exchanged.
"Her Majesty's surveying vessel Firefly, Commander A.
L. Mansell, left on the 29th inst. for Tripoli. She is to com-
plete the soundings between Malta and that part of the
coast of Barbary commenced by the Medina, Capt. Spratt,
C. 8., which vessel is now employed, as stated in a former
letter, taking soundings between Alexandria and Tripoli,
preliminary to the electric cable, which is to unite Malta
and Alexandria, being laid. Preparations for the reception
of the cable are being rapidly made here. A landing-place
on the south-east of the island, in St. George's Creek
(Marsasciroceo), has been deternitned upon, and a cable-
house is being built on the spot. There will be about six
miles of land line,which will be raised on the newly-invented
patent iron tripods, instead of on wooden poles, as in the
case of the Corfu and Sicily lines. Messrs. Ford and Laws,
telegraph engineers, in the employment of the Govern-
ment, are here superintending the operations. Mr. Ford
leaves to-day for Alexandria, to make arrangements for
landing the cable there, and to erect the land line, intelli-
gence having been received by telegraph from England, of
the death of Mr. Gisborne, who was to have performed this
part of the work. Her Majesty's corvette Scourge was to
have left for Tripoli on the 7th inst., with telegraph stores,
but, owing to some unavoidable circumstances, her depar-
ture has been postponed for another week. The sable is
expected from England about the end of April.
" The Alacrity gunboat is to leave shortly for Beyrout ;
the Liffey frigate, for Palermo, to relieve the Amphion
frigate ; and the Cressy line-of-battle ship, for Gibraltar.
The crew of the last-Lamed vessel has been very sickly of
late, and it is considered a cruise may do them good.
"The Egyptian frigate Voyageur de la Mer came in to-

day from England. She has on board, besides her own
crew, the crew of another Egyptian frigate which is being
fitted with screw machinery in one of the dockyards at
home. The captain of the Voyageur de la Mer is seriously
ill, as well as several of the men, and they are to be landed
here for medical treatment. Some 13 deaths occurred
among the erew during the voyage.
" The following are her Majesty's ships now in port :
the flag of Vice-Admiral W. Fan-
Neptune, 90 (bearing
shawe Martin, the Commander-in-Chief) ; Hibernia, re-
ceiving ship (flag of Rear-Admiral H. J. Codrington, C. 8.);
Cressy, 80 ; Liffey, 51; Scourge, 6 ; Alacrity, 4 ; Mohawk,
4; Quail, 2 ; and tug Hearty,
"It is rumoured that the Mediterranean fleet is about to
be reinforced by the Aboukir, 90 ; Donegal, 101; Hero, 91;
and Ariadne, 26.
"By her Majesty's corvette Scourge I have received a
letter from Corfu of the 26th inst., announcing the arrival
there that morning of Lord Elgin and suite, from Alexan-
dria, on board of her Majesty's frigate Terrible. His lord-
ship was to continue his route to England, via Trieste and
Vienna, on the following day. Her Majesty's ships at Corfu
on the 26th inst. were :—Caesar, 90, Capt. T. Mason (bear-
ing the flag of Rear-Admiral Sydney Dacres) ; Algiers,
91, Capt. G. O'Callaghan ; Agamemnon, 91, Capt. Hope ;
Terrible, 21, Capt. H. H. Glasse, C.B. ; Assurance, 4, Com-
mander C. Aynsley.
" The English steamer, due on the 30th ult. from Alex-
andria, has only just arrived.. Her delay was occasioned by
the Bombay mail being a couple of days late. It was ex-
pected the mail by the English steamer would have reached
London before that by the French steamer. As it is, the
mail by the French steamer will be first.
" Her Majesty's frigate Amphion, Capt. Cochrane, ar-
rived yesterday from Palermo and Messina; and the Turkish
corvette Ismir, Capt. Hassien, came in on the same day
from Beyrout, Cyprus, and Rhodes, having on board 291
Druses, who have been exiled to Tripoli (Barbary). .The
corvette leaves at noon to-day for her destination. H.M.S.
Cressy will leave to-morrow for Gibraltar."
The Glasgow, 51, screw frigate, was yesterday
removed from her position, and placed in No. 7
dock at Portsmouth. She will merely have her
launching gear removed prior to being undocked.
The Cockatrice, 4, screw gunboat, Lieut.-Com-
mander R. M. Gilson, has landed her long 8-inch
gun at Portsmouth dockyard. She has not yet re-
ceived her final orders, but as conveyance is ordered
to be provided for the gun to Malta, it is presumed
the vessel will follow.
The Octavia, 51, screw, is receiving her first coat
of paint in dock at Portsmouth. She is ordered to
be floated out on the 11th inst., when she will be
placed in the steam basin to receive her machinery.
The Cracker gunboat steamed out of Portsmouth
harbour yesterday to test her `machinery. The
Grinder gunboat arrived in Portsmouth harbour
yesterday from the westward.
In the notice of Sir W. Armstrong's contract for
the erection of hydraulic capstans and cranes in
Portsmouth dockyard, which appeared in The Sun
yesterday, reference was made to a length of 2,160
feet of piping which would be applied only to the
working of two capstans. This is all the result that
will be gained at present, but it is ultimately in-
tended to apply power from the same pipes to the
working of two additional capstans and five steam
cranes.

The late China war has furnished the Govern-
ment with some valuable statistics on the cost of
sea transport. At one period during our war with
the Celestial Empire there were employed no less
than 63,861 tons of sailing shipping, and 12,447
tons of steam shipping ; the former averaging
225. 6d. per ton per mouth, and the latter 355.
Tho above does not, however, represent the actual
pay of this fleet of sailing vessels and steamers,
the tonnage given being their registered tonnage,
whereas they were paid by their gross tonnage,
which may be taken as adding one-third to the
amount of pay given by their registered tonnage.
As an instance of how fortunes are at times made
by a lucky owner of a ship on the outbreak of a
war, an old lumbering North American built ship,
owned by an English house, left Cardiff in January,
1860, with 1,000 tons of coal on board, for Shang-
hai. On arriving at her port of destination she
was immediately engaged by the British autho-
rities to convey her freight to the North, for the
use of the fleet, at £1,500 per month. She sailed
for the North, and in due course got rid of 600 tons
to the various men-of-war off the Peiho. With the
remaining 400 tons as ballast, she was started off
to Japan to fill up and return to the fleet, which she
did, and, after again discharging 600 tons, retained
the 400 tons left, as before, for ballast, took in some
old stores as additional ballast, and sailed from the
North for Hong Kong to pay off. The last news
of this lucky vessel received from China was to the
effect that in January last she was seen to dis- ,
charge 50 tons of the Welsh coal shipped on board
her at Cardiff 12 months previously on board a
steam transport bound to England. Possibly by
this time she may have cleared out the whole of

her cargo.
Her Majesty's steam storeship Rhadamanthus,
Master Commander Sturdee, yesterday commenced
shipping in Woolwich basin a cargo of boilers and
steam gear for the Black Prince, at Glasgow.
The gunboat Hind., 3, tender to the screw steam
coastguard ship Russell, 60, from Falmouth, arrived
at Plymouth on Thursday evening with a detach-
ment of Marines, and proceeded up Hamoaze,
where she was placed alongside the coal depot.
The crew of the paddlewheel steam sloop Buz-
rard, 6, were paid off at Devonport on Thursday.
,The sloop will be placed in the third division of
the steam ordinary.
All tho vessels of the first division of the steam
()mina
rY at Devonport are to have their defects
made good
for the penanti be placed in an efficient state, ready
The when required.
at Ke ha boat Speedy, 4, was placed in No. 1 dock
overhauled,
anettElve yard yesterday, to be cleansed,
her valves repaired before
being transferred to
the first division of the steam
ordinary.

The screw steam
gauvessaetlLynx,4, was appointed
to be removed yester%
gooaternoon from Keyham
basin. She is not in a
Poslti?n, and will pro-
bably be placed aside for future
or
ralgar, 91,
otfa
Capt. E. G. Fanshawe, late 0 %TT-
ChLatham
the newly-appointed Superintendent
Dockyard, having arrived in England trota
'will, according to present arrangements, commence
Lisbon,
Ilia duties at Chatham dockyard this day. cftin. a.
Goldsmith, C,8., the late Superintendent, whose

—..........,-.......
period of &Ire Tears' service expired on the 20th ult., - selves) is, it appe
*ars., still to- be imposed on officers
he r .Majesty's ships, and their demands
will remain at the dockyard some days longer X° commanding
for improved anchors ignored.
assist Captain Fanshawe in his duties. The supply of :anchors and cables for the navy is
The /Etna, 16, floating battery, 200 lorse power, of no insiv•nificant amount, as will be seen by refer-
having,
been towed up from the steam reserve ordi- eilce to Pioliarnentary papers giving detailed par-
naryticu:lars of the receipt and expenditure for the navy
at Chatham, and placed along the sheer hulk
for the year ending 31st Mareh, 1856—viz.,
opposite Chatham dockyard, commenced shipping servic.l
for ancht.ll.!' £51'553 Bs. 61 ; cables, £49,268 9s. 6d. ;
her armament yesterday, the guns being sent on
and the it.'llowing year, 1857, anchors, £44,856
board from the gun wharf. Her armament will be
12s. 6d. • ' cabled, £57,261 133.—the whole a virtual
the same as the floating battery Thunderbolt, viz., monopoly of one favoured firm of contractors.
16 68-pounders, each of 95cwt. The Thunderbolt, Vote 10 of the Navy Eotinuttes provides for the
having completed her armament, has been removed supply of an chat's and cables for the Royal Navy.
from the sheer hulk, and is now lashed alongside It will shortly come before the House of Commons
the Hussar target ship, in Chatham harbour, in in Supply, wlaen it is to be hoped something more
than mere official equivocation will he vouchsafed
readiness to be towed roand to the entrance to the this " foul anchor" scandal.
Thames, where the Atna and Thunderbolt are both
to be stationed.
The Admiralty transport Aid, in No. 2 dock at
Chatham, has had the whole of her copper .2tripped
off and a considerable portion of her planking re-
moved, in order that she may undergo a thorough
repair. Several of her timbers are found to be
very old and decayed. Although she is some-
what strained, she has not received such severe in-
juries as was at first feared from her running ashore
on the Sussex coast.

711:11 FORTIFICATIONS AT PL Tr M U7'll.

After inspecting the sites for the proposed bat-
terit s at Bovisand and Staddon, on Thursday after-
noon', the Duke of Cambridge went in the steam
tender Avon from the eastern to the western side
of Plymouth Sound. His Royal Highness sur-
veyed Catvsand Bay and Pickleeombe Point, and re-
mained for some time under Redding Point, Mount
Edgecumbe, The Avon then skirted the shores of
Drake's Island, and approached Stonehouse Point,
where the Duke landed, but subsequently re-em-
barked in the Port Admiral's barge for conveyance
to Mount Wise, off which he again joined the
tender, and then went through Hamoaze to Salt-
ash, where horses were in attendance to convey the
Comuaander,in-Chief to the Bull Point Powder
Works, and to various inland objects of defence.
Much activity has been recently exhibited by
the Government engineers in the vicinity of, Ply-
mouth and Devonport, and through the advertise-
ments which they have issued some indication has
at length been given of the direction of the
fortifications.
Hitherto the surveys have been so extensive that
no one could speak decisively of the course of the
works; indeed, it is now apparent that many of
the original plans have been abandoned. Some of
them were given up in consequence of the heavy
claims by the owners of land lying in the line of
the proposed chain of forts.
Tregantle Fort, about four miles west of Devon-
port dockyard, inspected by the Duke on Wednes-
day, is fast approaching completion by the con-
tractors, Messrs. Kirk and Parry. It is erected
on high ground bordering the English Channel,
and while it commands a considerable portion of
the shores of Whitesand Bay cn the south, is
equally protective on the east of the national
shipping in the estuary of Hamoaze, and the public
arsenals on its eastern boundary.
About one mile north of Tregantle is Screasden.
Fort, which is, like it, of considerable dimensions,
and will be of great assistance in preventing the
approach from the westward of an enemy who
might land at Fowey. Screasden will be also very
useful in defending the Government property in
Hamoaze, especially the Devonport arsenal,
Keyham steam-yard, and the Bull Point Powder
Works, near the Royal Albert-bridge. Screasden
commands, on the east, St. John's Lake; and, on
the north, St. German's River, two valuable
branches of Hamoaze. The fortress is progressing
rapidly by the contractor, Mr. F. Roach, of Ply-
mouth.
Tregantle and Screasden, both in the county of
Cornwall, are the only forts which are positively
constructing. Several strong works near Saltash
are under consideration.
There is also some expectation of the erection of
a fort at St. Budeaux, on the Devonshire side of
Hamoaze, where about 120 acres of land may be
required from Mr. W. E. Elliott, from whom it
was originally intended to take 160 acres. St.
Budeaux is immediately north of the eastern but-
tresses of the Royal Albert railway bridge. Saltash
forms its western or Cornish support.
A fort to the east of St. Budeaux will probably
be constructed at Burraton farm.
It is understood to be the intention of the engi-
neers to rear at Tor, still further to the east of St.
Budeaux, a citadel something. like Tregantle,
mounting 100 guns, and possessing accommodation
for nearly 1,000 men.
On the eastward of Tor Captain Ducane, R.E.,
has been under the necessity of altering the line of
defence. This officer, in compliance with the design
of the Government, intended to have either taken
possession of or obtained control over Mount View,
the property of Mr. W. E. Rendle ; Thornhill,
belonging to Mr. Whiteford, town clerk of Ply-
mouth ; Compton Leigh, a country residence just
built by Mr. Luscombe the mayor, and other pro-
perties in the vicinity ; but the estimated cost was
so great that the Board of Ordnance was con-
straised to go further north from the town to
Little Efford, an estate belonging to Mr. G. W.
Soltau.
St. Budeaux, as already stated, lies on the eastern
margin of Hamoaze, and Little Efford on the north-
western side of the estuary of Catwater. Complete
control will be obtained by the Government of a
belt of land half a mile wide, stretching from

the west to the east, and including the pro-

tective works just commenced. The present differ-
ence between the value of this land for building and
for pasture purposes will be paid tothe owners, and
hereafter, if required, its pasture value only will be
given.
This belt will, however, be cleared at once
of all buildings, sheds, and trees, including the
woods at Manadon, and, where necessary, the ine-
qualities of the ground will be made good, so that
the range of the guns will be so far permanently free
from obstruction. Crossing Catwater and landing
at Hoe, the visitor hereafter will find a very great
change. For the purpose of facilitating the eree-
.tion of fortresses in the vicinity, and of establishing
a suitable approach to them when built, a military
road will be carried through this retired village, its
principal farmstead will be razed, and the small
episcopal ohurch of St. Anne's probably destroyed.
The Rev. H. Birley has received 14 days' notice to
give possession of the Parsonage-house and.schools.
Similar notices have been served on Lady Rogers,
Lord Morley, Colonel Harris, and the Rev. H. Bul-
teel. The road just referred to will lead to Staddon
Heights and Bovisand. From the latter place the
Queen's Harbour Master, Commander Thompson,
has removed, as in front of his residence, on the
water's edge, a double battery of 36 guns is to be
erected to command the eastern approach to the
Sound. A similar battery of 36 guns in Haxo case•
mates is to be built on the rocks on the south-east
of Drake's Island, commanding the anchorage.
Tenders for the construction of this battery were
sent in on the 19th of February. Several addi-
tional guns are to be mounted on Staddon Point
and on Staddon Heights. Some of these will face to
the eastward, to prevent the approach of an enemy
landing at Torbay or in the river Yealm.
The War Department is receiving tenders for
" Staddon Heights, consisting, of a battery at S tad-
don Point, two small batteries, an escarp, Brownhill
Battery, Staddon Fort, and Fort Turnchapel."
The most costly expenditure will, however, take
place jsst inside Plymouth Breakwater. Here, if
we are correctly informed, an artificial foundation,
extending to three or four acres, is to be built in
the sea, for the purpose of sustaining a fortress
mounting 90 guns and possessing barrack accom-
modation for 1,000 men, and, in order to avoid the
use of floating hulks, an extensive store for supply-
ing war steamers with fuel. The military engineers
took soundings early in February. The fort will
present an angle to the south, and show one range
of guns towards the western, the other towards the
eastern entrance of the harbour. The embrasures
will be as high as the lantern on the Breakwater
Lighthouse. It is stated that the foundation is to
be composed of blocks of stone fastened together
and weighing not less than 30 tons each. There will
be a channel between the new fort and the break-
water. Sonic objections have been raised in the
Plymouth Chamber of Commerce to the contem-
plated diminution of valuable anchorage ground in
the Sound, while the water space outside the break-
water is comparatively of no use. The answer given
is, that unless protected from the sea by the break-
water, the guns in the new fort would be ineffective
in heavy weather, besides which the rubble founda-
tion of the breakwater would not bear the concus
sion of heavy ordnance supposing it were necessary
to use a portion of the existing foundation for the
new works, and further that a coal depot outside
would be less valuable for shipping.
The Government would probably find it economi•
cal to establish comutodious landing places at once
under Plymouth Hoe, at Fisher's Nose (Citadel
Point), Cawsand Bay,Turnchapel, &c. A perma•
nest convenience would be thus obtained, and it is
t
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are around Cawsand and Mount Edaecumbe. Close
to the water's edge a battery is tot'be constructed
under the recently erected fort at Picklecombe Point
and another in Sandway-valley below the old fort
on Maker-heights. A platform for one gun is spoken
of on Clay-piece, a meadow between the old fort
and Cawsand, and it is also said that the houses
occupied by the coastguard men at Crane-cove are
to be removed for defence purposes, and that on the
site of Coombe Farm, between Forder and Rame,
several guns are to be placed. A double tier will be
mounted on Wilderness-point, -Mount Edgecumbe,
to command the entrance to liamoaze. The works t
on the lines round Devonport, commenced many