The Sun.
London, England, 1828-07-28 00:00:00

NAVAL iNTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, JULY Majesty's ship
Herald, Capt. E. W. C. Astley, arrived on Tuesdaa,
with his Excellency Earl Amherst, late Governor-
General of India, and suite, on board. His Lord-
ship's arrival was immediately greeted by the Earl
of Plymouth, his son-in-law, who had been waiting
here some days in anticipation out, And who pro-
ceeded to Spithcad as soon as the ship anchored.—
The Herald left Calcutta on the Sib of Marsh, the
Cape on the 18th May, and St. Helena on the 4th
Jane; From the Cape we have a promise of more
flattering prospects for our settlers than heretofore.
Great alterations and redactions have taken place in
that colony. - The new supreme Cana gives great
satisfaction; and trial by jury in criminal cases, which
has been introdmied, is exceedingly popular. The
three puisne Judges were on their circuit when the
Herald came away; and the arrival of the Editor of
the Commercial Advertiser, a publication which
had been unjustly suppressed, was daily expected,
with full permission to re-establish his press, Go-
vernment having afforded him an indemnity for his
loss of time and expences. The colonists and in-
habitants of the Cape looked on this as a great boon;
and considered the institution of a House of Repre-
sentatives as a salutary check upon the Govern-
ment; as the only measure they can now desire.—
Public credit had attained its lowest ebb at the
Cape ; and a brewer, supposed to have been a rich
man, had failed for the sum of one million of Cape
guilders ; in fact, all the rich and oldest families had
been shamefully despoiled by the depreciation of
the Government paper, which, from four shillings
sterling (the exchange at which it had been issued)
had been reduced and fixed at eighteenpenee.—
Several Dutchmen had been made Magistrates ; and
their ignorance of English law had in some instances,
been ridiculously manifested, in commitments for
presumed offences ; but in this they would soon gain
a little experience. The Report furnished by the
Commissioners of Inquiry had given very consider-
able dissatisfaction, no mention having been made of
the real grcunds of the late complaints of the colo-
nists ; a defect singularly obvious.—The Helicon
sloop of war lately captured a Portuguese schooner,
on suspicion of slaving; but the evidence failing to
condemn her, the Helicon was directed to convoy
her back to Delagoa Bay, from which place she had
been brought. In this service we regret to find that
Captain Acland fell a victim to the influence of the
prevailing fever of that coast. His death took place
on the 23d April. Several of the officers and men
of the Helicon received the infection, and had been
sent to the hospital : only one seaman had died; the
remainder were recovering. Lieutenant King, of
the Owen Glendower, has been promoted to com-
mand the Helicon.—A general belief prevailed in
the colony, that Sir G. L. Cole would conduct the
Governorship on principles beneficial to all parties,
his direction of affairs at the Mauritius having given
universal satisfaction. The Tweed frigate, Captain
Lord John Churchill, was expected, with his Ex-
cellency, in a fortnight. The Maidstone, 46, Com-
modore Skipsey, was at Simon's Bay ; and the
Sparrowhawk, 18, Capt. Polkinghorne, was in the
Mozambique.—A merchant brig, the Cleopatra, was
loading with dried fruits and butter, for New South
Wales. The management of the first of these ar;
ticks had been but recently very much improved;
and it was expected that, next season, some samples
would be prepared for the English market.—The
Herald, with the Meteor steamer, proceeded to
Deptford on Wednesday.
On Tuesday arrived his Majesty's ship Alligator,
28, the Hon. Captain Canning, from Lisbon, which
she left on the 13th. A rumour whirls was very cur-
rent, and received belief, existed in Lisbon, that the
failure of the Constitutional troops in checking the
progress of the Miguelites, was entirely to be attri-
buted to the defection of General Silveria at Coim-
bra; that the subaltern officers and troops were well
affected towards the cause they had espoused, but
that their leader's supineness' had been secured by
means of bribery from the Usurper. In every little
encounter they had with the troops of the latter,
they had been successful ; and even when the Mi- '
gueli-tes covered Oporto, expressed themselves anxi-
ous to be led against the Absolutists and Priests, but
that Palmella, Villa Flor, Saldanha, and the other
Constitutionalists, who quitted this country with a
promise of heroic deeds, had unaccountably aban-
doned the cause and fled. An opinion prevailed,
that had the troops been properly led even at this
crisis, the overthrow of Don Miguel would have been
Rent-ed. Great hopes were entertained in Lisbon,
amongst the Court party, that the Marquess Pal-
me,lla arid the other champions would have been in-
tercepted; if such an event has occurred, their death
would have been certain. English- persons and
property were respected throughout Portugal, from
a feverish apprehension that our long standing
friendly relation with that kingdom would be sever-
ed from it. The Alligator, in proceeding to Ply-
mouth yesterday morning, missed stays, and struck
on a reef in Thorness Bay, near Cowes, when at
low water she fell over on her side, on soft mud,
and remained about ten hours. She was got off
with the assistance of Dock-yard lighters, &c. with-
out receiving damage. She put back to Spithead
this morning, to restow her hold, and get a fresh
supply of water. susses
The Duke of York steamer arrived here early
yesterday morning, in three days from Bordeaux, at
which place she landed 16 passengers from Lisbon,
among whom was the Baron Quintilla. The French
Custom-house officers in the Garonne sheaved every
possible incivility to this vessel and her passengers,
detaining her twenty-three hours in a vexatious
search for contraband articles, and ripping open the
linings of the vessel, in order to discover places of
concealment, and turning out of their portmanteaus
the wearing apparel and baggage of all the passen-
gers. This scrutiny arose from the circumstance of
one of the Irish steam-vessels, or some passengers
by them, having lately run a small quantity of goods.
The Duke of York left Lisbon on the Gth instant,
and brings a cargo of wine, lemons, and currants :
she also conveyed from Cadiz to St. Andero the
extraordinary number of ninety persons, who had
principally been employed as vendors of spirits dur-
ing the occupation of that city by the French troops,
and she landed twenty passengers at this place.
The Barham, 50 guns, was at Cape Nicolo Mole
on the 4th June, on which day Vice-Admiral Flem-
ing shifted his flag to the Druid, with the intention
of going to Nassau; and the Barham was despatched
to Barbadoes, with 100,0001. in specie on Govern-
ment account ; our squadron was very healthy.
The Aurora frigate, Captain Austen, would return
direct to England when the Barham relieved her at
Barbadoes.

The Pearl, 18, Commander G. C. Blake, bearing
the flag of Rear-Admiral the Hon. Sir Charles Pa-
get; the Orestes, 18, Commander John Reynolds;
and the Pylades, 18, Commander P. Hay, arrived on
Wednesday at Falmouth, from Cork, for the pur-
pose of joining the Prince Regent and Britannia,
which vessels are to cruise under the orders of Vice-
Admiral Sir H. Blackwood. They will leave Ply-
mouth about the 29th instant. The Pearl, which is
a very fine vessel of her class, it rather sluggish in
stays, and to remedy this important deficiency, the
constructor, Mr. Sainte, has recommended the
shortening and removing of her masts.
The Rose, 18, was on Monday put in commis-
sion, in lieu of the Scylla, 18 ; the latter, upon •un-
dergoing some repairs, being found too defective for
immediate service. Commander Travers, the Of-
ficers and crew of the Scylla, have been conse-
quently turned over to the Rose.
His Royal Highness the Lord High Admiral, has
directed that the King's Arms, which decorated the
quarter-deck of his Majesty's ship Victory, and
' which was carved originally to ornament his Majesty's
yacht Apollo, to be transmitted to the Admiralty, in
order to its being deposited in the room fitting up in
that building, to contain the maritime anti geographic
works of his late• Majesty.
Sir Charles Paget has been presented with the
Freedom of the City of Cork, in a handsome silver
box. This presentation was made to the worthy

Admiral in the mo.,t flattering manner, by the Mayor
and Corporation.
The Portsmouth Branch of the Royal Naval An-
nuitant Society held their Annual Meeting on Wed-
nesday last, to receive the Fifth Report of the So-
ciety ; when it appeared that 1,700 Members had
joined the Establishment, and that a funded capital
of 34,0001. had been accumulated, from which thirty
claims were Ratisfied with an annuity of 30/. each, in
May last.—Hampahire Telegraph.