The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-17 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, DEc. 15. T The letter of Commander
Matson, of the Daring, to Mr. White, the shipbuilder.
of Cowes, published in The Sun, by which a clear and
comprehensive statement is exhibited of the circum-
stances under which the sailings took place, from the
26th of November to the return of the squadron to port,
throws more light upon the trial sailings of the experi-
mental squadron of brigs than an 7 other document
hitherto placed before the public. The striking supe•
rig rity of the Daring over the other vessels of the
squadron in almost every point of sailing is thus clearly
manifest, she having gained, in the words of the letter,
after a trial of six hours and a quarter, on the 28th of
November, " on the Wo.terwitch, 1,500 yards ; on the
Espiegle, 4,800 yards ; on the Flying Fish, 7,500 yards;
and on the Pantaloon, five miles!" Thus the Surveyor's
vessels in both squadrons have been dead beat at all
points. We are glad this important discovery has been
made in time (although late) to remedy in some measure
the shameful evil which has so long existed, through the
blind confidence reposed in a man whose qualifications
for the important and responsible office of Surveyor of
the Royal Navy of Great Britain have proved of so very
indifferent a character. It is with regret we contem-
plate the expense the country has been put to in
experiments upon naval construction to further the
crotchets of the present' Surveyor of the Navy, and
the irremediable evil which will accrue to the service
if such experiments are proceeded with. By expe-
ments we mean the number of vessels which have been
laid down upon the plans of Sir William Symonds,
and which have been suffered to proceed, almost to
the exclusion of the construction of vessels from any
other models, before one tithe of those by that officer
already afloat have been tried or even commissioned.
We sincerely hope the report is true that an order has
been dispatched to each of the dockyards to suspend all
labour upon Sir William Symonds's vessels. The Fly-
ing Fish was to have distanced, by long odds, her
" swimming " competitors—she kas been fairly tried in
the scale, and found disgracefully wanting. Of the
Pantaloon the less said the better. The Queen, we
hear, is to be lengthened, a la Fox ; it were better, we
think, to make a guard-ship of her at one of the home
ports than go to the expense of endeavouring to make
her an efficient sailinr, ship. The fact of the Queen and
Albion being ordered" out of commission now that the
experimental cruise has proved them so little deserving
the crack names with which they are honoured. fur-
nishes grounds for severe comment upon the shameful
waste of the public money, so wantonly lavished in the
construction of ships which, when tried, prove so un-
worthy the service for which they were destined. The
question now is—who is to be responsible to the coun-
try for this reckless waste—the Admiralty or their em-
ploye ? All men who know anything of naval construc-
tion have held up their hands against the palpable wan-
tonness exhibited by the Board of Admiralty in burdening
the country to such an unprecedented extent as it has by
the patronage of the Symondian principle to the almost
utter exclusion of any other for so many years. What
will now be done with the ships built by the present
surveyor ? And are the demerits of that officer to pass
without any other notice of them than that taken by
an indignant public ?
The Mercury tender sailed on Thursday, with seamen-
gunners, draughted from the Excellent, for the Superb,
80, just commissioned at Devonport. On her return she
will be dispatched with provisions to the relief of the
windbound merchantmen in the Channel.

The Hastings, 72, was towed out of the basin, and the
Msgicienne, 44, and Locust steam-sloop towed in, on
Thursday. The Magicienne is to be brought forward
for commission.

On Tuesday morning, about six o'clock, two old con-
victs, named respectively Benjamin Shaw and John Hol-
den, quarrelled at breakfast, and Shaw having taken
Holden by the collar, the latter, who had a small knife
in his hand with which he had just cut some bread,
thrust it out to keep Shaw off, when the blade entered
his (Shaw's) thigh, piercing the fetneral artery, which
speedily produced death from loss of blood, notwith-
standing the best surgical assistance was promptly at
hand. An inquest was held by the Admiralty Coroner,
Mr. G. Greetham, on Wednesday, and continued on
Thursday, when, after a most searching investigation,
the jury were of opinion there was no intention to wil-
fully murder, and returned a verdict of " Manslaughter"
against Holden, who, since the sad catastrophe, has
been in a most pitiable and lamentable state of mind,
the 6ircurn3tance having made such an impression on
him that his life is despaired of.
The Savage, 10, Lieutenant-Commander Bowker, ar-
rived at Devonport on Thursday. She left Gibraltar on
the 25th ult.

In Harbour—The Victorieuse flag-hulk, the Victory,
the Excellent, the Siren, the Nautilus, the Sparrow. the
Diligence transport, and Dwarf, Fearless, and Echo
steam-vessels.

Ia Dock—The St. rincent, the Prince Regent, the
Victoria and Albert, the Vengeance, and Athol, late
troop-ship, fitting for surveying service.
In the Basin—The Neptune, 120 ; Magicienne, 44 ;
and Locust, steam-sloop.
At Spithead—No man- of-war.
The Siren, 16, Commander Smith, which arrived on
Thursday from the East Indies, brought home the sea-
men who navigated the Anson, 74 (convict depot), to
Hobart Town, and invalids from the Cambrian, 36,
Commodore Chada, one of whom, named Paddy, got
leave to go ashore, after being transferred to the flag-
ship on Thursday, and having borrowed some money
from an acquaintance, got intoxicated and into bad com-
pany, and is supposed, while insensible, to have laid do Nri
on the beach, where he was frozen to death, or drowned,
as his body was found on Friday morning, between high
and low water-mark, on the Gosport shore. The Siren
was only eighty days in making the Scilly Islands from
Trincomalee. Captain Rowley went out in the Fanny
yacht yesterday, and mustered the crew, who were (.xer-
cised at general quarters, and underwent the usual in-
spection; after which the vessel came into harbour to be
paid off, instead of at Plymouth, as anticipated.
The Emerald tender sailed on Friday morning with
provisions to the relief of the windbound merchantmen
in the chops of the Channel.
The North Star, 26, Captain Sir E. Home, is ordered
from Sydney to Hong-Kong.