The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-24 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

Major• Gen. Lord William Paulet, C. 8.,
Governor of Portsmouth, and commanding the south-
west military district, Las published, for the infer.
mation of the officers and troops under his command,
the following letter, which officers in command are
to read to their men on parade ;

" Horse Guards, Oct. 20.

"My Lord,—l am directed by his Royal High-
ness the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief to
convey to you, and through you to the troops under
your command, the satisfaction which his royal
highness has derived from his recent inspection of
the garrison of Portsmouth and the troops in the
south-west district.

"I have also to request you will make known to
Colonel Gordon, commanding Royal Engineers, that
his royal highness highly appreciates the zeal and
skill with which his duties have been performed.
"I have, &c,

"J. YORKE SCARLtTT, Adjutant-General,"

Major Palliser's gun, on the improved principle of
strengthening the 68 pounder, hes been sighted in
the royal gun factories at Woolwich, and is now
ready to be forwarded to Shoeburyness to be fired
1,000 rounds to test its power of endurance.
During the absence on leave of Lieut.-Col. Clerk,
superintendent of the Royal Carriage Department
at Woolwich, Lieut.-Col. Shaw, assist.-superin-
tendent, has brought into operation the con-
struction of iron gun carriages and slides
both for naval and garrison purposes, which
for a considerable time has been under consideration.
The suggestion of introducing iron for the above-
named purposes met however with so much opposi-
tion on its being proposed, that the idea was for a
time abandoned. Several carriages, slides, platforms,
&c., have now been completed at Woolwich by
Lieut.-Col. Shaw, and have been approved by the
select committee. Oae of the carriages and slides,
adaptei for 100 pounder guns, has been sent to the
Excellent at Portsmouth, and others are in course of
manufacture for the 300 and 600 pounders. A car-
riage is also about to be constructed of iron for Col.
Shaw's gun, now at Shoeburyness, on the muzzle
pivoting principle, without trunnions,
A wrought-iron carriage for the 9-inch smooth-
bore gun on board the gunnery ship Excellent, at
Portsmouth, has been received on board that ship
with slides of the same material, from the Royal
Arsenal, at Woolwich, and so far as it has yet been
tested has been found to answer admirably, com-
bining strength and lightness with efficiency. In
controlling the recoil of heavy guns fired with full
charges four kinds of compressors are now under
trial on board the gunnery shipsr at the outporta,
viz.—Sir Wm. Armstrong's compressor, the Excel-
lent's ditto, Mr Cunningham's ditto, and Mr Erics.
son's (American) ditto.

Some very successful firing has been made from
the Excellent with Mr Hale's large rockets.
The sailing transport New Era arrived at Spithead
with 56 invalided and time-expired soldiers and 20
women and children from regiments serving in
India• She sailed from Madras on the 27th of July
and St. Helena on the 15th September.
The Imperial Russian screw corvette Rhinda, 11
guns, which anchored at the Motherbank, off Ryde,
Isle of Wight, a few days since, on her return home-
ward from service in the Pacific, is expectd to sail
from that anchorage this morning for Cronstadt.
The following appointments were made onSatur-
day at the Admiralty :—Herbert H. Gain, paymas-
ter to Devastation; Frank Pitman, assist.-paymaster
to the Indus; Augustus A. Ly ne, assist.-paymaster,
supernumerary to the Victory; Hugh Duncan,
engineer to the Indus from the Gamet ; and Samuel
Lloyd in the Hawke, promoted to be first-class
assist. engineer.

IMPERIAL TRAVELLERS,—The Franche.Comte
paper states that as the train in which the Emperor
of Russia was travelling was obliged to stop at Besancon
for a few minutes to allow another train to come up and
pass, his Majesty alighted and took several turns on the
platform, accompanied by a magnificent black Newfound-
land dog. The Progres of Lyons, after describing the hand-
some preparations made at the Grand Hotel of that city
for the reception of the imperial travellers, states that by
order no bed was left in the sleeping-room assigned to
their Majesties, as they always when travelling had their
sleeping apparatus carried with them. The Salta Public
of the same city says :—" On their arrival at the hotel the
august travellers found two tables served—one on the first
floor for their Majesties and their children, and the second
ie. a room of the ground floor for their suite. The Empress,
who was in a suffering state, was removed in an arm chair
from the railway carriage to the apartment prepared for
her. She wait not able, in consequence of her state of
health, to be present at dinner. but was served in her
room, around which MM. Marrs and Ce. the eminent
silk manufacturers, had disposed a qu intity of rich
stuffs, as specimens of Lyons produce. The Empress being
anxious to retire to rest, sent word to those gentlemen that
she would make a choice among the goods sent fur her in-
spection on her arrival at Nice. The Emperor graciously
invited Marshal Canrobert to join him at dinner. The
Emperor and Empress travel in such strict incognito that
positive orders were given that no one should be admitted
to the railway station; all the company's ssrvants had been
sent away and the station-master alone remained to open
the door cf the imperial carriage. The Emperor and Em-
press were dressed in the simplest manner ; the Emperor
wore a grey overcoat and one of those round felt hats with
a flat brim which are now in fashion. As to the Empress,
without giving any special details as to her attire, we may
affirm that she was dressed with a simplicity that a bourgeoise
would have disdained. When a lady is Empress of All the
Russias she may wear the most simple articles with impu-
nity. On their departure Marshal Canrobert and the Coun.
cilior of State, Prefect of the Rhone, received their Majes-
ties at the station and accompanied them to the railway
station,"