The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-28 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

COLLISION BETWEEN A FRENCH AND ENGLISH MAN-
or-WAR.—An unfortunate collision between the Spy,
3, Lieutenant-Commander Western, and a French
man-of-war steamer, occurred during the night, a
short time since, on the coast of Africa, arising from
some mistake in the night signals. The Spy hoisted
the usual signal, which was not seen by the French.
Fortunately no lives were lost, but the spars and rig-
ging of both vessels were damaged.
Aid, lighter, sailed on Saturday morning from De-
vonport, with stores for Portsmouth.
Avon, steamer, at Devonport, is to be commissioned
as a tender to the Impregnable, in lieu of the Fearless.
The crew of the Fearless to be transferred to the Avon,
when the Fearless will be sent to the eastward to wait
further orders.

Banshee, ex-Holyhead steam-packet, Master-Com-
mander Smithett, arrived at Woolwich on S tturclay
afternoon, to hava one of her boilers taken out. Ca-
radoo is also to have one taken out, and the vessels
are then to b tried against each other.
Bel:erophop, 78, Captain Baynes, C. 8., may now
be hourly expected at Devonport. She was towed
through the Straits of Gibraltar by the Janus, on the
11th instant.

Camel lighter, Faben master, arrived at Devonport
on Friday morning from Exmouth, with the furniture
of Rear-Admiral Moresby, and has discharged it on
board the Portland.

Dragon, 6, steam-frigate, Captain H. W. Gifford,
assisted from a perilous position, with loss of fore-
topmast and jibboom, a Dutch merchant ship, and
towed her into Gibraltar, on the 15th.
Hercules store-ship, Master Commander Fulton,
was towed from Greenhithe, on Saturday morning,
by the Monkey and the Advice, to the Downs, on
her way with stores for Gibraltar and Malta.
Vesuvius, advanced steam-sloop, will tow the Port-
land, 50, Captain Clads, out of harbour into the
Sound this day, and will then proceed round the Ed-
dystone to try her engines.
PORTiiIIOIITH, SUNDAY.—The Retribution steam
fri,Tate, Captain Warden, came into harbour to-day
under steam. During her late trial to Queenstown
she averaged a speed of 71 knots, and with sails from
9 to 10 knots. She is very buoyant and will be armed
with six more guns, and have her complement in-
creased 30 men.

The Pluto steam-vessel from the colst of Africa,
is hourly exented here, having left Fayal the
26th ult.

-The Dauntless screw steam-frigate, Captain HA-
stead, had arrived at Queenstown, and was coalipg
on the 233. She embarked a number of seamen, ap-
prentices from the Wizard instruction brig, and sailed
for Lisbon.

The Inlaurn, 72, and Inflexible ateatn-sloop, were
at Port Royal on the 28th of September; the Inde-
fatigable, 50, was at G-reytown; the Persian, 12, was
at Corn Island, Mosquito ; she has been very sickly
and lost four or five men, and many of her crew were
then on the sick list. The Bermuda schooner was at
Carthagena, en route to Jamaica; she also had been
sickly, but her crew were recovering ; the Alarm, 26,
was at Antigua, which had alo been sickly ; Mr.
Congreve, her purser, died on the 23i of September.
The Lily, 12, Commander Bedford, arrived in
Simon's Bay, Cape of Good 'lope, cn the 4th of Au-
gust, en route to the East Indies and China.
The Heroine, 8, and Dolphin brigantine, arrived at
St. Helena on the 26th of August from Ascension,
and sailed on the 29th for the cruising ground.
The Success American trader arrived at Spithead
yesterday afternoon from London, and sailed this a!'-
ternonn for Sydney.
The Sprightly steam-tender sailed this afternoon
for Plymouth.

WooLwrcEr, OCT. 26.—The Llghtning steam-
vessel, Manter.Cornmander. Petley, arrived here on
Friday from Devonport, where she had conveyed
supernumeraries for service in the Portland, 50,
which is making ready at that port as flag-ship on
the Pacific station.

The Caradoc, sister steam•vessel to the Banshee, is
hourly expected at Woolwich, having been ordered
round from Portsmouth.

The Jasper steam-vessel, in charge of Master-
Commander Henry William Allen, of the Black
Eagle, and the Monkey steam-vessel, have pro-
ceeded with the Hercules storeship, Master-Com-
mander Fulton, to take her through the Downs with
troops and stores on board for Gibraltar.
The Advice steam-vessel returned to Woolwich this
evening, after accompanying the Wasp steam-sloop to
Greenhithe.

The Iphigenia (old frigate) having had her masts
taken out here, was towed back to Dsptford on the
same day (Thursday last), to be broken up at that
dockyard.
The G?yser steam-sloop, Commander Tatham, was
taken out of the basin in the afternoon of to-day, and
remains at moorings opposite the dockyard, prepara-
tory to leaving for the Brazils.
The Warp steam•sloop, Commander Crozier, left
at one o'clock P.m. to-day for Plymouth and the coast
of Africa. The taking out her ballast and substitut-
ing a 32-pounder gun of 56 cwt. for the 68-pounder
of 87 cwt. at her stern, considerably altered her im-
mersion, and when she left her draught of water was
13 feet 5 inches forward and 14 feet 9 inches aft, her
former draught being 13 feet 7 inches forward and
16 feet 2 inches aft.

The foot leverage attached to the stearing-wheel of
the Rosamond steam-sloop is the invention of Captain
Fayrer, and was fitted by Mr. Robinson, and 'IA the
invention of Lieut. Robinson, as previously stated.
SIR JOHN Ross's EXPEDITION.—The arrival of
two carrier-pigeons from the Felix, in which Captain
Sir John Ross proceeded to the northern regions, is
not credited, and the account given in the Ayr Adver-
tiser of their being first seen tends to throw great
doubts of their being any of the pigeon 3 given to the
gallant captain previous to his leaving Ayr. The
Advertiser says the pigeons were first seen at An-
narck, some distance from their original dovecot, and
assigns as a reason that the cot was shut Up.
Those acquainted with the character of carrier pigeons
feel convinced they would have continued fir days
on the top or near the cot where they were formerly
reared or kept, and must have been seen by their
owner or persons connected with the place. It is
also scarcely to be credited that two of the legs of
one of the pigeons should have been shot off without
wounding any other part of the body if it had been
fired at when flying..

A PLAN FOR REEFING TOPSAILS FRO3I THE DECK
WITHOUT SENDING MEN ALOFT.—ThiS most ingenious
contrivance has been fitted on board one of the Penin-
sular and Oriental Company's vessels, the Iberia, and
found to answer admirably. The sail reefs itself, and
from the time the yard is lowered it is close reefed in
two seconds. The reefs may be again shaken out, and
the topsail at the masthead in twenty seconds. In nau-
tical affairs this contrivance is one of the wonders of the
age, and must be rapidly brought into general use. The
invention is not expensive, because the present sails and
topsail-yards can easily be altered, at an expense not
exceeding 151. per yard and sail. The inventor. Mr. 11.
D. P. Cunningham, R.N., late secretary to Admiral
Moresby, has taken out a patent, and we hare no doubt
he will be amply repaid for the time and trouble ho has
bestowed. It is well known to officers that many a reef
is kept in during the night, and in consequence the ves-
sel's progress retarded, on account of a disinclina-
tion to send men aloft more particularly if
th'n weather he wet. With this admirable
con-
trivance sail can bo taken in, and again made, in
t,l short spaco of time without sending a man aloft.
The invention is of more importance te the commercial
marine than to the royal nave; but, of course, it is
equally applicable to both, and must manifestly save much
anxiety and do away with the risk of losing men off the
yards when reefers in bad weather, more particularly
it.frosty weather off Cape horn, So, &c. We triist
this talented gentleman
will be more successful with
this than with his other admirable inventions; we par-
ticularly allude to his plan for checking the recoil of
heavy guns by means of compressing the. air in a small
cylinder fitted under the breach of the gun. As regards
the former invention, he is in the hands of the Superin-
tencLiit of the Peninsular and Oriental Corneany, at
Southampton, who has given him every aesistance and
support in bringing it to perfection. Fortunately, in
tata Instance, he has diff,rent materi tls to deal with, for
nojealous feeling can by any possibility arise between
the navy and artillery. This feelinghas ben the cate.e
of many inreeious contrivances being busked, apparently
because the suggestion did not originate with themselves.
—Portsmouth nine* and Naval Gazette.