The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-02 00:00:00

A garrison police, composed of non-commissioned
officers and men selected from the amalgamated

corps of military and marines stationed in Wool-
wich, has been sanctioned by the War-office, to
supersede the present arrangement of provosts'
doing duty about the garrison. They will be dis-
tinguished by the letters" M. P." (Military Police)
attached to their uniforms, and will be organized
on the principle established with good effect at
Aldershott. The new force is intended principally
to put a permanent check to the alluring facilities,
a short time since on the increase, to tempt the
young recruit to dispose of his newly-acquired out-
fit, and desert from his engagement after having
pocketed the Royal bounty. This species of crime
practised by certain dishonest traders about the
garrison of Woolwich during the 12 months pre-
ceding the month of April just terminated,
according to the returns rendered to the
authorities, was punished with various fines,
amounting to a total of £3OO, and during
the last month it is satisfactory to remark
that the rigid measures necessarily adopted by
Gen. Dacres to put an end to the growing evil have
been highly successful. The number of the courts-
martial for the trial of deserters during the month
of April 'at Woolwich were in consequence very
few.

The screw steam sloop Eclipse and the gun
vessel Snipe were yesterday taken out of basin at
Woolwich. The steam sloop Lily was taken out of
No. 1 dock, and the paddlewheel steam-vessel Spit-
fire was docked in her stead.

The merchant steamer Rowen, having been char-
tered by the Admiralty as a temporary transport,
wus yesterday taken into the basin at Woolwich
for the purpose of shipping steam machinery for
the Defence at Jarrow, Newcastle-on-Tyne. The
newly-converted screw steam storeship Wye yes-
terday left Woolwich to ship naval stores at Dept-
ford for Rio and Ascension. The Wye, having
been fitted with a magazine by mechanics from the
Royal arsenal, will also ship powder and ammu-
nition.

Her Majesty's steam gun-vessel Griper, 2, 60-
horse power, attached to the steam reserve in the
Medway, left Chatham for Sheerness yesterday,
after landing at the Ordnance-wharf her large 68-
pounder 95cwt. pivot gun, as well as most of her
shot and stores. The large 68-pounder swivel guns
furnished to the various gunboats having been
found to be altogether too large for that description
of vessel, it is intended to have the whole of them
removed and returned into store, and one of the
long-range Armstrong guns furnished to each gun-
boat instead. The 68-pounder gun was landed at
Chatham by means of one of the steam cranes
recently erected on the Ordnance-wharf.
The steam gunboat Louisa, 2, 60-horsepower, Lieut
Commander H. N. Knox, tender to the Edinburgh,
60, screw steamer, at Leith, was taken off the
gridiron at Chatham yesterday, the examination
having resulted in her hull being found in a very
sound state.
The boilers and the heavy portion of the machi-
nery for the line•of-battle screw steamer Bombay,
in the fourth dock at Chatham, have arrived at the
dockyard from Messrs. Humphreys, Tennant, and
Co., the contractors ; but, owing to the want of
more powerful cranes and lifts at Chatham for re-
'toying unusually heavy machinery, the boilers
have not yet been landed at the dockyard, the ves-
sel in which they arrived being moored alongside
the sheer-hulk. In consequence of this the boilers
and the larger portion of the machinery will not be
placed in the Bombay until she has been floated out
of dock, when they will be put on board from the
sheer-hulk.
The chartered transport Isabella, Capt. Newby,
drew alongside the landing wharf at Chatham
Dockyard yesterday, and during the day landed
900 fathoms of the heaviest chain cable from the
factory of Messrs. Brown, Lennox, and Co., Cardiff,
together with three large anchors, manufactured
by the same firm.
The western division of the Channel fleet, cora-

prising the Donegal, 101, screw, Capt. H. Broad
head ; the Hero, 91, screw, Capt. A. P. Ryder ; the
Conqueror, 101, screw, Capt. E. S. Sotheby, C. 8.;
the Centurion, 80, screw, Capt. H. D. Rogers,
C. 8.; and the Aboukir, 91, screw, Capt. F. A.
Shadwell, C. 8., arrived at Portland on Tuesday
afternoon, working into the Roads under all plain
sail, and took up their berths in good order and dis-
tance, making a running moor with open hawse to
the W.N.W. A Prussian corvette arrived in the
Roads the same morning.
The Cruiser, 17, screw, Commander Bythesea,
V.C., was paid off yesterday morning alongside
Portsmouth Dockyard, in a very quiet and speedy
manner. The report of the inspecting officers on
the state and cleanliness of the ship and the con-
dition of her machinery will be of a highly favour-
able nature. Her-engines and boilers, although re-
quiring very extensive repairs, are in a state reflect-
ing the gi eatest credit on the engineers who have
had them in charge. The Cruiser was commissioned
by Commander Fellowes, the present Flag-captain
to the Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet, in
July, 1856, and convoyed three gunboats out to
China. On arrival out in China she went up the
Canton River, and shared in the affair at Fatshan
and the bombardment and capture of Canton. She
was afterwards despatched to the north of China
where she was employed during the first attack on,
the Peiho Forts. Capt. Fellowes, being posted out
of the ship about this time, was succeeded in the
command by Commander Bythesea, V.C., under
whom she accompanied Lord Elgin up the Yank-
tze-kiang to Hangkow, and afterwards to Japan.
She afterwards returned to the north of China,
where her boats were actively employed in com-
pleting the survey of the Gulf of Leao-tong. She
was also engaged in surveying the Gulf of Pecheli
from the Great Wall of China down to 20 deg. south.
But one officer has returned to England in the
Cruiser out of her original complement, and barely
half her crew, many having invalided on the station
or been appointed to other vessels. Only three
deaths have occurred from sickness during the
whole period of the ship's commission.
The Adventure, screw troopship, Commander
Edward Lacy, arrived at Spithead yesterday after-
noon, from China, with the head-quarters of the
Royal Marinebattalion on board, under the command
of Lieut.-Col. John H. Gascoigne, consisting of 24
officers and 500 non-commissioned officers and men,
lately attached to the North China Expedition.
The Adventure sailed from Hong Kong on the
20th of January; Singapore, 30th; Cape of Good
Hope, March 9 ; Ascension, March. 27 ; St. Vin-
cent, April 8. Arrived at Madeira on the 16th,
and sailed again on the 17th; arrived at Vigo on
the 25th, and sailed again on the 27th. Her Ma-
jesty's steamer Argus was lying at Madeira, wait-
ing to accompany her Majesty's royal yachts Vic-
toria and Albert, Capt. the Hon. Joseph Denman,
and Osborne, Master• Commander Geo. K. Bower,
on the Empress of Austria embarking on board the
former on her return to Vienna from her sojourn at
Madeira. The same morning the Adventure left
Madeira she met the royal yachts steaming in, the
Osborne about three hours ahead of the Victoria
and Albert, and, as the Empress was in readiness
to embark on their arrival, it was expected they
would leave again almost immediately for the Medi-
terranean, whither it was said her Majesty would
proceed and probably disembark at Trieste. A mail
was brought to England by the Adventure from
the Empress, and also from the island and her Ma-
jesty's steamer Argus. The weather to Madeira
from China had been generally fine, but off the coast
of Portugal strong north-east winds were fallen in
with, compelling the ship to put into Vigo for fuel
and provisions. Three deaths only have occurred
during the voyage home. The Adventure, with
the Assistance, lately lost in China, was built by
Mr. Laird, shipbuilder, of Birkenhead, and previ-
ous to hoisting the pendant had, together with her
sister ship, rendered very essential service to the
Government in the conveyance of troops and invalids
between the Black Sea and Spithead. Nothing
was seen by the Adventure of any of the expected
troopships from China during the latter portion of
, her vogage.
The paddle-wheel steam survey tender-Bann,
Mr, Wells muter, haying had defects =de end