The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-02 00:00:00

tons is not very far from the mark, for the
transports alone; and with men-of-war and gun-
boats of all sorts and sizes, I should not be surprised
if the whole fleet should aggregate 200 sail. Fancy
such an array arriving some fine summer morning
in Herne Bay or any quiet watering-place on the
coast of England. Vague reports from the Borth
say the Chinese are continuing their preparation s
for war, and flel confident of success. Without
being boastful or unwarrantably sanguine, we may
calculate upon their dreams of victory over the
barbarians being somewhat rudely dispelled.
The two military events of the last fortnight
have been a review of the- troops encamped at
Cowloon and a trial of the Armstrong guns. The
review took place on the 30th ult., and was a great
success. The Commander-in-Chief went over at
five in the afternoon, attended by his staff, and was
received on the Cowloon side with a salute from

the Madras Mountain train. He then rode up to the
ground, where the force of nearly 4,000 men was
drawn up under General Sir R. Napier. The usual

int,pect ion was made, and the regiments " marched
pa:-t," and then home to their tents. It was a
beautiful afternoon, and the whole of Hong Kong
turned out to witness what is here so unwonted a
spectacle, The Sikhs, and especially the cavalry,
attracted great attention. Probyn's Horse, with
their handsome leader at their head, excited the
,especial admiration of the fair sex, of whom there
was a large number present, and some pretty faces
amongst them.
The trial of the Armstrong guns was made also
at Cowloon yesterday evening. Three-guns, all 12-
pounders, were employed. The marks fired at were
targets moored in the sea, at distances which ap-
peared to be 1,200, 1,800, and 2,500 yards respec-
tively. The distance had not been measured, and
the artillerymen judged itby the eye. As I antici-
pated, the result was disappointment to the majo-
rity of the spectators, who evidently expected to .
see the targets struck every shot. They were not
struck at all. Some of the shots were very far from
the objects and some were near—one or two very
close. The most interesting practice was at the
longest range, and at the close, when the gunners
were beginning to ascertain pretty accurately the
distance, the shooting was good ; but we must see
them in the field, in front of an enemy, before any
decided opinion can be formed of how much we have
gained by their substitution fer the old ordnance.
Of the state of preparation of our allies I know
almost nothing. Report says they are not in a very
Forward state, but report is generally wrong.
MAY 5.
The arrivals since my last have been the Alfred,
with the 60th Rifles, from Calcutta, Lord Dal-
housie, Queen of England, and two other ships
with detachments of Probyn's Horse, part of
Fane's Horse, in two ships, the remainder of the
regiment of Loodeanah, the whole of the 19th
Putijaub Infantry, the head-quarters and remainder
of the Bth Punjaub Infantry, part of the 15
Punjaub Infantry, two companies of Madras Sap-
pers and Miners (natives), part of her Majesty's
44th Regiment from Madras, and of the 2d Queen's
from the Cape, and a portion of Govan's Battery of
Royal Artillery from Bombay.
The Adelaide, with the siege train on board, was
at the Cape on the 12th March, and should be here
now any day. It will come into play if the Takoo
Forts must be taken by regular approaches. I need
not trouble you with speculations as to the probable
plan of operations. Everybody here can tell you
what it will be, or at least what he knows it ought
to be. And every one's scheme is different. These
matters are wisely kept secret, and in reality, ex-
cept the few interested, nobody knows anything
definite about it. That we shall leave Hong Kong
in transports sometime, rendezvous somewhere,
land somewhere else, and fight somebody, we all
know, and very few know much more. The heat
has been steadily and sensibly increasing, and the
thermometer ranges about 78 to 80 degrees at eight
in the morning within doors. The troops continue
healthy.

AUSTRALIA.

PLYMOUTH, JUNE 30.

The ship Prince of Wales,Capt.Watson, belonging
to Messrs. It. and H. Green, of London, was off the
port this morning, 81 days from Melbourne. She
has 216 passengers, 33,000 ounces of gold, a quan-
tity of copper ore, and some wool. The Prince of
Wales sailed April 9, and crossed the line June 6.
Icebergs were observed in the South Pacific on the
Ist of May. At 8 o'clock this morning she was
two leagues east of the Eddystone, going up Chan-
nel with a strong favourable breeze from north-
west. Spoke May 23, lat. 36 14 S., long. 32 20
W., the British bark Creswell, 53 days from Nel-
son, for London ; 27th, 37 19 S., 2ii 1 W., the
British bark Princess Clotilde, standing south-
ward ; 28th, 26 2 S., 26 46 W., the French ship
Amiral Dubare, 50 days from Marseilles, for Pon-
dicherry ; June Bth, lat. 4 2 N., long. 26 35 W., a
French ship with "T. B." on her foretopsail,
standing southward; 17th, lat. 28 2 N., lon. 39 10
W., signalled the American bark Paladin and the
American ship Panama, both standing southward;
19th, lat. 32 4 N., long. 37 21 W., signalled the
British bark Salsette, 108 days from California, for
Cork ; and June 22d, lat. 37 47 N., long 32 22 W.
signalled the Russian ship Helene, standing N.W.

AMERICA.

LIVERPOOL, JULY 2.

The Royal mail steamer Africa, Capt. Evans,
which left New York on the 20th ultimo, and
touched at Queenstown yesterday morning, has
arrived here.

The Japanese Embassy was at New York.
It was reported that the Mormons had offered
to sell their property in Utah, and to remove to
British possessions.