The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-24 00:00:00

Lambs. ...6s Od to 7s Od.
Suckling calves, 19s to 22s ; and quarter-old store pigs, 23s
to 29s each.

Head of stock on sale.
Total supply. Foreign supply.
Beasts 97,, Beasts.
Cows.
Sheep and lambs 7,:00 Sheep and lambs
Calves 7lO Ca ves 7OO
Pigs 350 Pigs —

.... 450

The Visit of the French Fleet to

Portsmouth.

The preparation for the entertainments to be given
by the naval, civil, and military authorities at Ports-
mouth to the officers of the French fleet progresses
very satisfactorily. The ballroom in course of con-
struction, under the supervision of the superintend-
ing civil engineer of the dockyard, in the quad-
rangle of the Royal Naval College, is already
partially floored and roofed in, and will be handed
over to the upholsterers and decorators on the 26th
inst.—that is, three days before the arrival of the
fleets at Spithead from Brest, so that ample time
will remain to complete all the details. The ap-
proaches to the Naval College are exceedingly good,
with a wide semicircular drive for the arrival and
departure of carriages. The entrance hall of the
College is very spacious, and will, when properly
decorated, form a most appropriate vestibule to the
ballroom. The latter is being constructed, as we
have already stated, in the quadrangle of the Col-
lege, and is 107 ft. in length by 55ft. in breadth,
clear of all the upright timbers. Its height is 20ft.
to the plates of the roof and 36ft. to its
apex. Right and left of the ballroom from the
entrance the supper tables will be arranged in the
College rooms, access being gained to the latter from
the ballroom by a temporary broad flight of steps.
At the opposite end of the ballroom to the entrance
a temporary opening has been made into the College
gymnasium, which will be elegantly decorated and
fitted with refreshment buffets. The ballroom itself
will be made to represent a vast tent, whose roof
and walls are composed of the tricolour of France.
The apex of the roof of this tent, and the plate line,
will be marked with a gold cable four inches in dia-
meter, to relieve the somewhat monotonous outline
which would otherwise predominate. Banks of
shrubs and flowering plants will be placed round the
base of the hall and its approaches, while rich tro-
phies of arms and flags will decorate the walls. Seven
devices in gas will also occupypositions on the walls,
and 40 candelabra of four wax lights each have also
been provided for the same purpose. From the roof
of the hall will hang massive chandeliers with wax
lights. The orchestra is set back from the ballroom,
and will not, therefore, detract from the space given.
It will be a noble room ; but still, with even its un-
usual size, the question remains, is it sufficiently
large for the occasion ? We ourselves doubt it, for
accommodation should have been provided for
thousands where it is now only being provided for
hundreds. There is every probability of the " crush"
at the Admiralty Ball at Portsmouth being greater
even than that recently experienced at the ball given
in honour of our flag at the Hotel de Ville, Cher-
bourg.

On board her Majesty's ships in Portsmouth har-
bour all are eager to do a something,•no matter how
trifling, that may render any chance visit of their
French brethren one of mutual and hearty good
feeling. On board the Duke of Wellington there
are, as yet, none of those extraordinary arrangements
visible by which her decks will be transformed from
their grim sternness of the present to the dazzling
splendour they are intended to assume. Although
not visible on board, all necessary provisions are
made, and under the energetic direction of Capt. Sec-
combe, who bears a wonderful reputation for taste
and general management in such matters, the final
issue of the arrangments on board the Duke is cer-
tain to be successful. It has been suggested by some
fastidious people that a ship bearing some other name
than that of the military opponent of the Great Na-
poleon might have been selected by our Admiralty
for the occasion. This, however, is sheer nonsense.
Old rivalries in arms are now forgotten by both na-
tions, or only remembered as so many pages in his-
tory which two peoples, formerly endeavouring to
the uttermost to destroy each other, may now study
together and with mutual benefit. Besides, is not the
ship an old companion in arms of the imperial navy,
carrying as she did the flag of a British admiral in
company with one bearing the tricolour of an admi-
ral of France on the waters of the Baltic ? On board
no ship here or elsewhere will officers of the French
navy receive a heartier welcome than on board the
Duke of Wellington. Turning to the military por-
tion of the coming fetes, and which will necessarily
be restricted, owing to the limitedstay of the fleets at
Spithead, if for no other cause, every precaution is
being taken to render whatever manoeuvres may be
decided upon by the authorities as effective as pos-
sible. Amid all this note of preparation and bustle in
the naval and military camps, the civil element is
not silent. A working committee, with the mayor,
Mr. R. W. Ford, at its head, is energetically em-
ployed in making complete the preparations of the
citizens for the entertainment of our honoured guests.
Nearly £1,500 has already been sent in to the com-
mittee to meet the necessary expenses, but a total
of £2,000 is required for the purpose, which, how-
ever, will no doubt in good time be forthcoming. It
is a most gratifying proof of the good feeling enter-
tained by all classes to read in the subscription list
the names of many county families and others living
at a distance from Portsmouth. Their money has
been handed in no doubt from a feeling that the en-
tertainment of the officers of the French fleet at
Portsmouth is a national rather than a local ques-
tion, and that too great honour could not well be
done to the guests of the occasion.
The " Governor's Green" where the civic enter-
tainments will be given, is, as its name implies, a large
and nearly square plot of green sward, and is admi-
rably situate for the purpose. It is in close contiguity
to the main street of the town, and has unusually
wide approaches for entrance and exit. On two sides
it is bounded by the sea face of the town ramparts,
and on the other by the garrison church, monastery
wall, railways, &c. The entrance to the Green from
the Grand Parade will be under a triumphal arch,
which, if only executed as designed, will produce
a striking effect and be a credit to all concerned.
Triumphal arches are, however, generally 'speak-
ing, very ticklish matters to deal with. They
may turn out exceedingly well, or they may prove
to be excessively ridiculous, and it would there-
fore be unwise to venture on any prophecy rela-
tive to the one at Portsmouth. The triumphal
arch passed through, the Governor's Green is fairly
entered upon, and in the immediate front and on
the right of the visitor, under the elm trees, on the
fortifications, and by the line of railings alluded to,
will be lofty poles, with bannerets, connected with
festoons of evergreens and lit up by night with gas
in opaque shades. On the left of the entrance are
the buildings and marquees in which the entertain-
ments, consisting of a dejeriner, promenade concert,
and ball, will take place. A decorated porch of en-
trance leads into the first hall or apartment, circular
in form, and 80ft. in diameter. From this an ante-
room leads tt, another apartment, 140 ft. in length by
40ft. in breadth. This latter is but a continuation
of the main apartment in which the dejefiner
will be given, a permanent building 100 feet
in length by 50 feet in breadth, presenting ,
a broad vista of 240 feet in length. All will be
brilliantly illuminated with gas, and decorated with
choice flowering plants, evergreens, arms, and flag
trophies, &c. The committee have ample space to
work upon, even for the display of all the art en-
thusiasm available in or around Portsmouth, and
there can be no doubt that all the ornamentation
will be effective, _ in good taste, and to the entire
satisfaction of both friends and guests.
The programme, so far as it has been settled at
present between Admirals Drummond and Eden at
the Admiralty—the two official lords on duty in
town—and Admiral Sir Michael Seymour at Ports-
mouth has been somewhat modified since Tuesday
last, and until the Duke of Somerset and the lords
now at Brest return to Portsmouth the programme
will remain subject to still further modifica-
tions. At present the intentions of the Admiralty,
so far as they can be ascertained, are to give a
dinner on board the Duke of Wellington on the
evening of the 29th, the night of the arrival of the
fleet. On the following day a dinner to about 100
will be given in the ball-room of the Royal Naval
College. On the next day, the 31st, a review of
the troops will take place ou Sonthgea-common in
the morning, and in the afternoon and evening the
civic authorities and inhabitants will entertain the
French Ministers of Marine and officers of the
French fleet in the Governor's Green. On the Ist
of September Sir Michael Seymour gives a private
dinner at the Admiralty-house, and the ball and
supper take place afterwards at...the-Naval College.

Beyond this nothing definite is known. With the
Duke of Somerset and Lord Clarence Paget at the
end of one set of telegraphic wires at Brest, the two
lords at the Admiralty who are supposed to have the
sole arrangement of the coming festivities, and with
Sir Michael Seymour as the target for both parties
to fire their messages at, it is impossible to say what
may be the precise length or breadth of the ultimate
official programme. The dockyard, arsenal, and
other public establishments will, as is usual with us,
be open to the inspection of the French officers
every day of their stay at the port, and some re-
turn in this respect will, therefore, be made for the
extraordinary courtesy and kindness shown to
English officers and civilians when going over
Cherbourg dockyard during the recent visit of the
fleet there. The dockyard of Portsmouth could
almost be stowed away in one of the basins of
Cherbourg yard, and therefore, if judged by its
area only, must appear contemptibly small in the
eyes of Frenchmen. The stores and workshops
of Portsmouth yard are all pigmies, also, com-
pared with those of Cherbourg ; but the machinery
in the factory of Portsmouth yard is immeasur-
ably superior in every respect to that in Cher-
bourg yard, as are also the steam-hammers and
forges of smithery. The new foundry, also, is
worthy of our reputation as a people that are
" workers in metal ;" and the pattern-shop is un-
rivalled in any country for its collection of engineer-
ing patterns. Of iron ships there are a few that
may well pass muster—the ironcased frigate Royal
Alfred, fitting for carrying 12-ton guns on her
broadside ; the Valiant, iron frigate, in No. 10 dock,
completing for commission ; the Wivern and Scor-
pion, Captains H. Burgoyne, V. C., and Commerell,
V.C., both double turreted ships, and each fitted to
carry four 12-ton guns, at a maximum draught of
water of 12ft. ; the Helicon, paddle despatch vessel,
in the bow of which the officers of the Magenta and
Solferino may recognise the " beak" of their own
ships ; the Mersey, wooden frigate, the largest and
finest of her class ever constructed ; and lastly,
though not least important, the iron frigate Mino-
taur, with her beautiful hull and machinery, and
most abominable style of rig. To the officers
of the French fleet, this ship, as she now lies
in dock, will be an object of great interest,
and the dock also in which she lies, the
only dock we have fit to show a stranger, ex-
hibits itself also at the same time under the best pos-
sible conditions in having on its blocks one of the
largest ironclads in the world. Although, therefore,
Portsmouth yard is small and ill-arranged, it yet
contains ships and material which will interest our
visitors, and upon which we shall be glad to receive
their criticism while endeavouring to return the
courtesy they themselves have exhibited to us under
similar circumstances.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

-4 -

Yesterday Major-General A. B. Stransham, the
Inspector-General of Royal Marine Light Infantry,
who was accompanied by Capt. Travers, his aide-
de-camp, resumed his summer inspection of the
Chatham, or Ist division of Royal Marine Light
Infantry. In consequence, however, of the unfa-
vourable character of the weather and the heavy rain
which fell throughout nearly the whole day, the usual
field-day manoeuvres to test the capabilities of the
battalion under arms could not be gone through,
and the day's proceedings were therefore devoted to
an inspection of the internal economy of the division.
On Tuesday the Major-General visited and inspected
the various offices connected with the divisional head
quarters, as well as the grand division offices, bar-
rack buildings, recreation rooms, libraries, and other
, parts of the barracks, with the whole of which he
expressed himself as being generally well satisfied.
The weather in the afternoon allowing of his in-
specting the officers and men under arms, a small
battalion of about 700 men of all ranks was marched
to Chatham great lines, where the companies were
put through an extended course of battalion move-
ments, directed by Major-Gen. Stransham, in the
execution of which officers and men acquitted them-
selves in a highly satisfactory manner.
Good conduct medals have been granted at Col-
chester camp to Private Peter Mowatt, of the Army
Hospital Corps, and to Sergt. Weatherly, of the 17th
Lancers. Capt. Wyse, 34th Regiment, is to join
the depot at the expiration of his present leave of
absence, Assist.-Commissary General Eichbaum,
now at Aldershott, is to relieve Deputy Assistant-
Commissary General Gibson, at Colchester, in the
charge of the commissariat duties in the Eastern
district, the services of the latter officer being re-
quired abroad.

The following reinforcements will leave Chatham
garrison this morning by special train for Ports-
mouth, where they will embark on board her Ma-
jesty's iron screw troopship Urgent, 4, 400-horse
power, Capt. S. M. Henderson, for Bermuda and
Halifax--viz., three officers, 100 non-commissioned
officers and men, nine women, and ten children of
the 9th company of Royal Engineers ; 35 non-com-
missioned officers and men, one woman, and one
child of detachments of Royal Engineers ; 36 men
of all ranks of the Depot Brigade Royal Artillery ;
two officers, 142 non-commissioned officers andmen,
one woman, and three children of the 2d battalion
of the 2d Queen's Royals ; and two officers and 64
men of all ranks of the Ist battalion of the 19th
Regiment. The whole of the troops have been in-
spected by Major-Gen. Sir R. Walpole, K.C.B.

The ships of war on the Australian station at the
date of the last advices were—the Miranda, 14,
Capt. Jenkins, at New Zealand ; the Eclipse, 4,
Commander Freemantle, at New Zealand ; the
Curagoa, 23, Commtdore Sir W. Wiseman, on a
cruise ; the Esk, 21, Capt. Lucie, at Melbourne ;
the Falcon, 17, Commander Parkin, at Sydney; the
Salamander, 4, Commander Young,. at Brisbane ;
and the Brisk, 16, Capt. Hope, at New Zealand.

We have to announce the death of Lieutenant-
General Henry Fisher Salter, C. 8., of her Majesty's
Indian forces (Bengal Cavalry establishment), which
melancholy e vent occurred at Kingstown last Mon-
day morning. The deceased officer was in his 74th
year, and had served upwards of 57 years in the
Indian army, during which period he saw consider-
able active service. He took the field with the
army of the Indus, and was present at the assault
and capture of Ghuznee (medal) and operation in
Kohistan, and battle of Punniar, for which he re-
ceived a bronze star. He also served during the
Punjaub campaign, including the siege of Mooltan
(medal). This distinguished officer was invested
with the third class of the order of the Dooranee
Empire, 20th November, 1840 ; and with the Com-
panionship of the Bath, 9th June, 1849. His com-
missions bore date as follows :—Cornet, 30th April,
1808; lieutenant, Ist September, 1818 ; brevet-
captain, 30th April, 1823 ; captain, Ist May, 1824;
major, 19th May, 1838; brevet lieutenant-colonel,
23d July, 1839 ; lieutenant-colonel, sth January,
1844 ; brevet-colonel, 16th July, 1849 ; colonel,
27th September, 1859 ; major-general, 28th Novem-
ber, 1854 ; lieutenant-general, 14th April, 1863.

THE UNITED STATES CROPS.—The country has
been in great anxiety in consequence of the wet weather.
The preceding drought caused the rain at first to be
regarded as a great blessing, but its long continuance
gives rise to serious apprehensions, and, indeed, certainty
of harm. How much mischief had been done is yet very
much a matter of conjecture. The earlier the harvest
the greater has been the damage. In the North it has
been very trifling, and the fine, cool, clear term which
has succeeded gives assurance of securing the crops in the
best condition. But in Ohio, Southern Indiana, Southern
Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, the moderate crops of wheat
have been sadly diminished and injured b 3 the wet ; the
damage also extending to rye and barley, and possibly to
oats. Without bad harvest weather the general wheat crop
of the north-west world have been but a moderate one--
less than a fair average. We do not think that Northern
Illinois, Wisconsin, and lowa have had so light a wheat
yield for ten years, excepting, of course, the almost total
failure last year. Oats are good, and corn is now doing
well.—lVells's (Chicago) Commercial Express.
BIRMINGHAM WOOL SALES, AUG. 23.—The
quantity and quality of the fleeces offered at these sales
was rather above the average. The attendance of buyers
was, however, very limited, and the biddings were of a
very languid character. Deep grown lustre description
appeared to be only in request, and the great bulk of the
wool was therefore withdrawn. The following quotations
are from Messrs. Nossiter's circular :—Fleeces—Tegs, 24d
to 26-id ; wethers, 21-g-d to 24d ; mixed, 2l id to 25id per lb.
Skin wools—Combings, 20d to 221 d ; cardings, 151 d to
19d.; supers, 19d to 22d; heads, 14d to 18d per lb.

mthr
Tort

The Queen's Visit to Germany.

THE ROSENAU, COBURG, Aug. 21.
Duke Ernest of Wurteifiburg (her Majesty's
cousin) visited the Queen on Saturday.
The Duchess of Saxe Coburg dined with her
Majesty in the evening.

Her Majesty, their Royal Highnesses Princess
Helena and Princess Louise, attended Divine service
yesterday morning.

The General Superintendent Meyer performed
the service.

Prince Alfred,who had gone to Reinhardtsbrunn
for a few days with the Duke of Coburg, returned
yesterday morning, and visited her Majesty in the
afternoon.