The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-01 00:00:00

COLONIAL.

TEA.—A moderate amount of business has been done,
and late prices are well maintained.
SUGAR —The demand for home consumption has been
steady, and values are well supported. In the railed
market the small supply of dried goods on offer has teaded
to adVance prices, inferior qualities realise 51s 6d to 525,
and wet lumps 49s Gd to 50s per cwt.
COFFEE.—The inquiries for plantation Ceylon have been
active, full prices being current for the better descriptions.
The stock on hand, compared with those of the same period
of last year, show an augmentation of about 300 tons.
RICE.—The market has been extremely quiet, and no
alteration can be recorded in quotations.
SALTPETRE.—A very limited business has been done in
the private market, and no public sales have taken place
during the last fe* days.
TALLOW.—For home consumption there has been a fair
inquiry, but only a limited speculative business has been
done, prices showing a downward tendency. P.Y.C., on
the spot, is quoted 555. Gd. to 555. 9d. ; May and June
delivery, 545. 3d. to 545. 6d. ; and last three months, 51s.
9d. per cwt.

VISIT OF PRINCE ,4LFRED TO If 00L-

IVICH AND BLACKWALL.

His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, accompanied
by Lieut.-Colonel F. Cavendish, arrived at Wool-
wich by the North Kent Railway, at two o'clock
yesterday afternoon, and immediately proceeded to
the Dockyard, where he was received by Commo-
dore Superintendent the Hon. J. K Drummond,
C.B. After taking refreshment at the Commodore's
residence, his Royal Highness proceeded to the
steam factory department, for the purpose of in..
specting a vertical boiler, made at Birmingham,
from a design of the Earl of Dundonald, and for-
warded to Woolwich for experimental purposes.
After visiting the numerous factories and inspect-
ing the ponderous machinery of the department,
the improvements in which were pointed out by
Mr. Atherton, chief engineer, his Royal Highness
proceeded to the basin, for the purpose of viewing
the Ranger, the first of a new class of gunboats now
completed, and other vessels in a forward state.
Having expressed his intention to visit the pri-
vate shipbuilding yards at Blackwall, the Bustler
steam vessel was manned by the crew of the Admi-
ralty steam yacht Black Eagle, Commander Petley,
and at half past three o'clock his Royal Highness,
attended by Col. Cavendish, Commodore Drum-
mond, Mr. Macdonald, master-attendant of the
Fisgard flagship, &c., embarked on board, and sub-
sequently landed at the Blackwell Pier, from
whence the party proceeded to the works of the
Thames Iron Shipbuilding Company, and his Royal
Highness was much interested in minutely inspect-
ing the enormous steam-ram vessels now building
for the Government at Bow-creek. His Royal
Highness and party also visited Messrs. Green's
and other establishments, where several gun vessels
for the Admiralty are now being constructed. He
then visited the East India Docks, in order to in-
spect the diagonal principle of shipbuilding, as
exhibited in Mr. Robert Taylerson's iron clipper
ship, Fanny Maud.
Mr. Taylerson, together with two or three of his
friends, received the Prince on board, and then the
royal guest and visitors having gone below and
inspected the sides of the vessel, assembled on deck
to hear Mr. Taylerson's very interesting explana-
tion of his new mode of shipbuilding. Mr. Tayler-
son commenced by saying, that it was. in conse-
quence of the great sacrifice of life by the breaking
up of ships on rocks, shoals, ashore, or by collision,
that his attention was first directed to a mode by
which vessels could be immensely strengthened
with very little increase of expense. Curiously
enough, the very ship they were in, built lately at
Port Glasgow, had sustained a very severe
collision in coming round, and had received
scarcely any injury at all. She had actually been
run down by a large vessel, which struck her nearly
amidships, and beyond some injury to the deck bul-
warks, she was perfectly scathless, the iron plates
not having been driven in at all. But for her novel
construction she would most probably have been
sunk from that collision. Mr. Taylerson then
pointed out the mode of building by models, old
and new. He gave a happy illustration of the way
in which our ships, built vertically in the old
fashion, are liable to be torn asunder like postage
stamps. Tha Fanny Maud is 2,000 tons burden.
By the new system all must go or nothing. It is a
combination of strength. It may not be generally
known that on board eight of the vessels which are
mentioned as having lately gone to pieces, up-
wards of 1,600 lives were lost, These eight include
the Birkenhead, the Tayleur, the Hungarian, and
the Royal Charter. It was the loss of the Birken-
dead, when the troops displayed such fortitude,
that first induced Mr. Taylerson's experiments.
When we saw his plan of shipbuilding, the only
feeling was one of surprise that it had not been
thought of before. His Royal Highness was ex-
tremely attentive to Mr. Taylerson's explanations,
and won golden opinions of all present by his ear-
nest, urbane, and ingenuous manners. After par-
taking of some slight refreshment he left, amidst
the warm cheering of the few accidental passers by
who had gathered near the ship, and took boat at
Blackwell with his military and naval attendants.