The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-11 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

H.R.H. Prince Frederick William of Prussia left Os.
borne yesterday in her Majesty's yacht Fairy, and
crossed over to Gosport on the way to London. His
highness received the utmost attention from the autlao-
rities, and salutes from the ships and battery. He
landed at 3.37 p.m., and left by the ordinary train from
Gosport terminus at 5 minutes past 4.
Her Majesty's steam blockship Pembroke, 60, ordered
to be commissioned at Portsmouth for coastguard
service, got up steam yesterday to try her engines,
The Dasher steainvessel, Capt. Lefebvre, which bad
been employed some years on the Channel Islands' waters
in protecting the fisheries, will be paid off at Portsmouth
to-day, and recommissioned to-morrow by Commander
Here ; the Dasher's other officers, we believe, have been
reappointed.
The inhabitants of Portsmouth are beginning to bestir
themselves in the matter of the reception to be given to
the representatives of the American nation whe are
bringing to Portsmouth her Majesty's discovery ship
Resolute as a present to the English people. The subject
eas introduced at a meeting of the town council, on
Monday, by Mr. Emmanuel, and followed up by Alder-
man George Sheppard and others, upon whose opinions
a resolution was founded, determining to invite the
American officers and the crew of the Resolute to a
public banquet on their arrival. The corporate body at
the same time backed up their motion by subscriptions,
as the nucleus of the fund necessary to be provided to
defray the expenses. Southampton shows an example
in the same cause ; there nearly 1,0001 have already
been subscribed with the object of entertaining the
Resolute's officers. We believe the naval service at
Portsmouth also have it in contemplation to invite the
Americans to receive their hospitality.
The Vestal, 26, sailing frigate, Captain T. P. Thomp-
son (1553), which was paid off at Chatham yesterday,
has been in commission since June, 1852, when she was
placed in commission by Captain C. B. Hamilton, who,
however, was soon afterwards compelled to resign his
command on account of ill health. The Vestal left Eng'
land the same summer to join the squadron of- Rear-
Admiral A. Fanshawe, commander-in-chief at
the North America and West India station, and after
remaining some time at Halifax, where Captain Hamil-
ton was superseded by Captain T. P. Thompson, pro-
ceeded to the West Indies for the purpose of assisting in
the suppression of the slave trade, cruising on the coast
of Cuba and the other Spanish islands. While in the
West Indies she captured three prizes. The crew were
generally healthy, there having been but few deaths on
board, including one seaman, who was lost overboard.
The Vestal was stationed some time at Greytown to
protee, British interests, and afterwards proceeded to
Demerara on the occasion of the disturbances there. On .
the paying off of the crew yesterday Captain Thompson
presented a silver medal each to William Holmes, gun-
net's mate, and William Bailey, captain of the after-
guard, which bad been awarded them by the Lords of
the Admiralty for exemplary conduct. The medals
were presented before the whole of the ship's company,
and entitle the wearers to the usual gratuity given by
the Admiralty. The Testal will be placed in ordinary,
and attached to the Chatham division.

The Dreadnought (late Caledonia) hospital ship is
ordered to be undocked when the tide will permit. She
has been inscribed with the word "Seamen's Hospital,
supported by voluntary contributions, for sailors of all
nations," in English, French, and Germyn.
The Southampton, 50, fitting for the coastguard ser-
vice at Chatham, will receive her Marines on board to-
morrow. They are to be selected from the Chatham
division.

The troops stationed at St. Mary's Invalid Establish.
ment, Chatham, were assembled yesterday morning by
Adjutant J. Pupe, when an order was read, directing
the immediate discharge of 200 more troops, the whole
of whom have received pensions according to their length
of service.

In pursuance of an Admiralty order forwarded to
Woolwich, embodying a number of naval officers from
the dockyard and transport shipping department there,
to constitute a committee for examination into the merits
of Mr. C. Clifford's apparatus for lowering ships' boats
from the davit, various experiments have been made in
order to test its utility and importance, and to enable
them to report thereon to the Lords of the Admiralty.
Repeated trials have been consequently made on board
the commodore's ship Fisgard, moored off Woolwich
Dockyard, and also from the decks of vessels under
steam at the rate of 12 and 14 knots the hour. The
result has in each instance been most satisfactory. To
render the trials as complete as the nature and object
would admit, impediments and difficulties such as might
occur at sea were introduced, yet the average time
occupied in disengaging the tackle and lowering the
boat never exceeded 14 seconds. The report is now
in the hands of the Admiralty. It expresses the
unanimous conviction of the committee that no
captain of a vessel, whether in the Queen's or the
mercantile navy, should be permitted to put to sea
without being provided with the means of unlashing
and lowering their lifeboats according to Mr. C. Clif-
ford's process.
An officer of rank (a major) in the United States'
army has transmitted to Woolwich Dockyard some ram-
pies of sailcloth composed of fibres of the palm-tree from
South Africa, interwoven with the ordinary thread can-
vas. The fibres have been withdrawn, in order to verify
the inventor's assertion " that sheets made of this mate-
rial will resist the teeth of old Boreas in his rudest of
tempers." The durability of the palm fibre has thus been
put to sundry tests, and has been pronounced by the
examining officers of Woolwich to be infinitely superior
to anything yet discovered for the manufacture of sail-
cloth, rope-yarn, and ships' cables.
The following appointments were made at the Admi-
ralty yesterday.
Commander.—E. G. Hors, to the Dasher.
Lieutenants.—W. A. de V. Brownlow, to the Mo-
narch, for disposal ; Hon. R. C. A. Capel, to the Corn-
wallis ; Hon. H. W. Chetwynd, to the Pembroke,
Paymaster.—W. Elliott, to the Plumper.
Master's Assistant.—W. C. Holbrook, to the Pluto.
Additional Assistant-Surgeon.—W. H. Baxter, to the
Waterloo, for the Royal Marines, at Deal.
Assistant Clerk.—J. L. Croker, to the Plumper.
GOOD SERVICE PENSION.----Captain William Hutcheson
Hall (1844), to have the good service pension, vacant by
Sir J. Ross's promotion to his flag.