The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-29 00:00:00

Cirtulgt

HER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, Dec.:2B.
The Queen, accompanied by Princess Louise,
walked and drove in the grounds this morning.
Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and
Princess of Prusssia (the Princess. Royal), with
their children, took leave of her Majesty this morn-
ing, on their return to the Continent.

MILI7ARY AND NA VA L INTELLIGENCE•

Her Majesty's screw Indian relief troopsbili
Serapis, Capt. John C. Soady, with troops on board
for Alexandria, saild from Portsmouth harbour
early yesterday morning, but shortly after noon re.
turned and anchored at Spithead for shelter from
a westerly gale of great violence which swept the
Channel, accompanied with thick rain, and which
increased in strength as the thy wore on. The
sailing of the Ariadne, screw frigate, Capt. Colic
A. Campbell, for the Mediterranean, appointed for
yesterday, was also deferred from the violence of
the gale.

The Agincourt, armour-plated screw man-of-war'
26 guns, 6,621 tons, 1,350-horse power, arrived at
Sheerness yesterday afternoon from Devonport to
take the place of the Formidable as flagship at the
Nore. The Agincourt was accompanied from
Devonport by her Majesty's ship Terrible, 191
paddlewheel frigate, 1,850 tons, 800-horse power,
Captain Travenen P. Coode, and entered
Sheerness harbour during a heavy gale of wind,
accompanied by heavy gusts of rain, from the south
west, the barometer being at 28.30, and still fall-
ing. It was found next to impossible to safely moor
the Agincourt. Her anchors were, therefore,
dropped, and fortunately they held the ground. At
the time of the despatch of our parcel, however,
the Government riggers were still endeavouring to
moor the ship on the west shore. The Terrible
proceeded farther up the harbour to Backstakee
Reach, where she anchored. Before returning t°
Devonport with the seamen riggers who navigated
the Agincourt to Sheerness the Terrible will re-coal.
Staff-Capt. Spain, assistant-master-attendant of Pe'
vonport Dockyard, had charge of the Agincourt oil
the passage round from Devonport.
The Cumberland, guardship of the Steam Reserve
at Chatham and Sheerness, has returned the whole
of her guns, shot, shell, and stores into the dock'
yard, and is completely stripped and dismantled,
preparatory to being put of commission on the
31st instant. Her officers and troops will be
transferred to the Royal Naval Barracks, it beieg
intended to abolish the guardship of the Steam oe-
serve in the Medway, the duties connected with the
superintendence and charge of which will in future
devolve on the superintendent of Sheerness Dock'
yard. No orders have yet been received from the
Admiralty as to the fate of the Cumberland, but n
report of her condition will be made in order to e°-
able the Board to decide whether she shall be broken
up or retained in the navy for an hospital ship °
other purposes.
The Formidable (the last of the old class of 84-
gun sailing line-of-battle ships in commissil
Capt. D. M. Mackenzie, flagship of Vice-Admiral
Sir Baldwin W. Walker, at the Nore, is Fartialill
dismantled, and, according to existing orders,
be put out of commission on Thursday next, When
her officers and crew will be turned over to the lr°ll'
clad ship Agincourt.
The private steamship Una, Mr. Smith, master'
arrived at Portsmouth yesterday morning fro
Malta, with a quantity of Government stores an"
the following officers and troops on board from WI
serving on the island :—Brevet-Major Francis, 84t,
Regiment, in command, and Mrs. Francis an
child ; Lieut. Aylen, 64th Regiment ; Capt. Cal!'
well and Lieut. Corcor, Ist battalion 24th ; Sta',
Surgeon Mears, in medical charge; 385 invalided
and time-expired non-commissioned officers a°
men. The roughness of the weather yesterday
prevented the disembarkation of the troops
the Uua, but that will be effected this morning !,
the weather sufficiently moderates, and she 111/
immediately afterwards sail again for Woolwich We
deliver up her cargo of Government stores. Sh

sailed from Malta on the 13th inst.
The following appointments were made Yester;
day at the Adtniralty :—Capt. W. A. R. Pears° t,
the Egmonf, vice Capt. Ingram, whose period
to°'
service has expired ; Capt. Edward Harding°
the Juno, vice Capt. Yearse ; Lieut. Harry F. to.
Hallett and Lieut. Frederick W. Bayly Jones
the Excellent, for study.

THE RIGH7 BON. MILNER GIBSON

ON PEACE.

" There was a growing opinion that the presenv
naval and military armaments which were re3've
tamed in a spirit of national rivalry were oppress'
and enormous burdens that ought to and must a
diminished. That sentiment was gaining groo
very rapidly in France, where branches of the Be?'
lish Peace Society were to be found, and he bieli
lieved the day would come when the world We°
see that that society had done great service, be'
cause, by spreading information throughout Blf.;
land and Europe, it was assisting to form a Peb,lo
opinion in favour of a new policy, namely, to rts
down those excessive military and naval amain°
which were at present main tained—(hear)---arratii
ments which were not supported by the voice °I,
the people of Europe, but were, in fact, due sinWaii
to the military class having acquired, in neadY
the governments of Europe, an undue ascendancy;
They would hardly find anybody in Fraiihee
who was not ready to express his astonishment, Zia
might almost say his disapproval, of the excesel'i
armaments that were being maintained in time of
peace. (Hear, hear.) Then was not this a niolnel3
which should be taken advantage of to make Pro,
posals to foreign Governments to bring about to
,
mutual disarmament? It was his firm belief tu a
unless the electoral body took the matter in ban
13e
themselves, so great were the ascendancy and t,,f
power of the military element in the government;
the country and the control of the departalev
ld
that no material reduction in the expenditure eeu
take place. A gentleman for whom he (Mr. gilnet
Gibson) had a great respect, had made an italn.e;
sive remark upon the effect of that silent, slow Pro
cess of the formation of opinion upon the import
subject of peace. He (Mr. Milner Gibson) k° to
it was frequently said that it was all nonsense
00
talk about peace and a peace policy, that man Wire
a fighting animal, and we should always lit/to
wars, and it was therefore not worth while
take any trouble about the matter. The gentle,
~
man to whom he referred said, 'lf 1 e".-
asked what effect we (the Peace Society)
have produced by our teaching on general opiaioo
in England, 1 answer that it is difficult to me0:1:0
moral influence. You cannot move for a per'-;
mentary return of its operations—you cannot P
them into a schedule or statistical tables. iti
subtle, impalpable, like the light of heaven and to
„0,
air we breathe ; but, like them also, it is penetfr
ing, diffusive, irresistible.' He believed that °Lill
process was going on, and he hoped that electi
would support the policy of peace, in which t
trade policy if
were so much interested. What became of our fr a
if a war system was to be perselero,
in ? They must recollect that wars upon the efio
tinent were almost as prejudicial to them as war-the
which England was actually engaged, because
,; A
general stock was thereby injured. Ile had seet,"ej
calculation that the Russian war actually destroy of
in Europe no less than 340 millions sterling
capital. If Ministers were really in carnestoo
making peaceful declarations, they ought to fly
them up by action, and use their diploaaatie iebat
ence to bring about a reduction of armaments; de
it was very hard to get any representations nlera
to foreign Governments in that sense, because thor
were so many persons interested in keeping t%olo#
establishments. The only occasion on which Abe
rnacy had been used in that sense was vine° of
Earl of Clarendon suggested to the Congre"ll
Paris that the great Powers should establisbs
system of international arbitration which Ti p.
prevent the resort to arms for the settlement 01
putes."—Speech at Ashton.