The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-21 00:00:00

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Tke Qolit.ig Wily, the Duke and Duchess
de Nemours, the rinse and Princess de Joinville,
and the Duke and Duchess d'Aumale, visited her
Majesty the Queen of the Belgians yesterday at
Buckingham Palace.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent paid
visits yesterday to her Majesty the Queen of the
Belgians, and to her Royal Highness the Duchess of
Gloucester, at Gloucester House.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge left
his residence at Kew yesterday for the Royal Mili-
tary College at Sandhurst.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, accom-
panied by his Serene Highness the Prince of Leinin-
gen, honoured the performance of the French Play
with her presence yesterday evening. Her Royal
Highness was attended by Lady Anna Maria Dawson
and Lord James Murray.
The Building Committee of the Royal Commission
for the Exhibition of 1851 met yesterday, in the New
Palace of Westminster. There were present Mr.
Cubitt, Mr. Barry, Mr. C. R. Cockerel!, and Mr.
T. L. Donaldson. Colonel Reid, R.E., and Mr. M.
Digby Wyatt, were also present.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
CAPTAIN AUSTIN'S ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
The arrival of the Lightning steatn-tender, Master-
Commander Petley, at Woolwich, from Captain
Austin's squadron, bas brought us half-a-dozen letters
from the ships. They are of the 15th instant, and all
dated " at sea."

From the Resolute our correspondent writes :
" We are now fairly off and in blue water; but the
wind is dead in our teeth. We expect a change, how-
ever, very soon, which must be fur the better. The
Dasher, Lieutenant• Commander Parks, is towing us. All
goes on very well, and we are now getting over our home
sickness."

A letter from an officer of the Assistance says :
" We left Long Hope this morning at 11.50, the Re.
solute, Captain Austin, C. 8., in tow of the Dasher, and
the Assistance, Captain Ommanney, in tow of the
Lightning, which vessel does her work well, and is a
capital exchange for the African. I have kept this
open for the last moment of the departure of the
steamers.

" The screw-tenders Intrepid, Lieut.-Commander
Cator, and Piorneer, Lieut.-Commander Osborne, came
down to Long Hope from Stromness yesterday morning,
having completed their water and coals there. The As-
sistance completed her water at Long Hope, and took
on board about a ton of Cannel coal for the use of the
stoves. It was part of a cargo of a vessel lately wrecked
on the islands. The Intrepid beats the Pioneer in
steaming."

A letter from the Intrepid says :
" May 15, 12 noon—All of us weighed from Long
Hope; light airs from th• westward.

"-3 r.at-.—Siopped the engine,;oni ;thing wrong with it.
"8 P.m.—Pioneer has the Intrepid in tow, and we are
proceeding."
The Lightning towed the Assistance twenty miles
to the westward of the Pentland Frith, where ship
left the expedition all well and the respective crews in
good spirits. _

COMMANDER FORSYTH'S BRANCH EXPEDITION.--
Commander Forsyth has been down at Aberdeen for
the last week superintending the fitting, &c , of his
ship; she is being fitted in the yard of Mr. Duthe,
who is most interested in getting her ready, and has
now employed more than 50 men on her; he is
strengthening her in the most approved and superior
manner, having had great experience in the many
whalers fitted out at Aberdeen. There is every pro-
bability of Commander Forsyth leaving on the 2d of
June ; he has shipped two ice masters and a quarter-
master; one of them has made fourteen voyages to
Davis' Straits and Lancaster Sound as harpooner and
mate ; the other has been master of a whaler in
Davis' Straits fishery for many years ; the quarter-
master has been twice as far as ]'ury Beach in Prince
Regent's Inlet, so that there will be no lack of expe-
rienced men. Wm. Hogarth, Esq., who superin-
tended the fitting of Captain Penny's vessel, has
kindly undertaken to assist the expedition. The pro-
visions and stores of every description are ready to
be put on board at a moment's notice. The charts,
instruments, &c., supplied by the Admiralty, as well
as the ordnance stores, howitzers, Icc., went down by
the last steamer. Commander Forsyth is to be sup-
plied with Mr. Smith's kites, Green's balloons, smoke-
balls, and all the new invented means for distant sig-
nals. The crew are all ready, and are a fine set of
men. They have been mostly employed in the Green-
land Fishery, and a few Orkney men are shipped for
travelling parties. They are to be each supplied with
extra clothing, boots, &c., suitable for the climate.
The pemmican made at the Clarence-yard has also
been forwarded. No pains will be spared, as far as
he funds will allow, to make everything as efficient
as possible, but most of the expense will fall on poor
Lady Franklin, if further and more liberal subscrip-
tions do not come in.

PORTSMOUTH, MONDAY.
Extract of a letter from Hong-Kong, dated March
29 :

" The Reynard, 11, Commander Cracroft, arrived
here from Foochowfuo on the 22d inst., and next day
intelligence baying reached the Governor that acts of
piracy and murder had been committed in the imme-
diate vicinity of the colony, he requested that Captain
Morgan, the senior officer of her Majesty's naval turoes
in China, would detach a man-01-war in pursuit of the
perpetrators, aid at halt-past four o'clock p m. the Rey-
nerd was steaming out or the harbour in quest of them.
We are expecting the arrival of the Admiral by the nest
mail, alter whicti her Majesty's ship Hastings will in
all probability go to the l'hilipine Isles, and then on
to India.

The Arab, 12, Commander Morris, is at Wharnpoa.
" The Mariner, 12, Commander Matheson, at
Shangui._

" The Hastings, 72, Captain Morgan, the Royalist, 8,
Commander Bute; and the hospital and store-ships
Minden and Alligator, are in Victoria Harbour.
" The Reyoard is about to take a trip to Pekin, with
a letter from Governor Bonham to the Emperor.
" The Royalist proceeds in a few days on a surveying
cruise to Manilla and Palawan.

" The Pilot, 12, Commander Ince, is at Shanghai.
" APPOINTMENTS.

" Assistant-Surgeon Thomas Graham, 311. D., from her
Majesty's ship Hastings to the Hon. Company's steam-
sloop Phlegethon, vice Sturtion, invalided.
" Midshipmen—James Saumarez and G. Golden from
the Meting to the Reynard."
The Birkenhead, iron steam-troop-ship, during her
late transport service under Commander J. A.
Stevens, of the Blenheim, has steamed 1,605 miles,
carrying 4,618 soldiers, women, and children, in 16
days ; 286 tons of baggage were taken on board, and
then landed, making it equal to 572 tons, and she was
in nine ports. These statistics show the advantage of
steam transports over sailing-vessels in an astonishing
degree.
I'LYMOUTII, MAT 18.—The Hamoaze lighter, with
jury gear and rigging, sails to morrow for the lazaret
Bacchus, at Liverpool.
The Stromboli, 6, Commander Lord Amelius Beau-
clerk, with the iron steam-vessel Greenock, is hourly
expected from the Clyde.
The Wizard was docked on Tuesday.
.She is to be
fitted as an exercise vessel for the apprentices of Ire-
land, and to be stationed at Cork.
The Dockyard Battalion assembled to-day at twe
P.M., when a general inspection took place in presence
of the principal officers of ther yard.
The lads were entered on Thursday as house boys
in the roper}, from which 15 labourers were dis-
charged to-day-
The merchant schooner Elizabeth and Sarab, Cap-
tain Trevethen, with copper ore, from Falmouth, sunk
in a calm on Thursday ;night, at eleven o'clock six
miles south of the Manacles. Crew saved.
Wind, northerly.

MAY morning Mr. Cuddeford, Customs'
warehousekeeper, and Mr. Rae, tide surveyor, with
two or three hands, in the merchant yacht airholus,
captured the Jersey cutter Zeus, off the Eddystone.The master, Charles George Matthews, Thomas Gates,
a third man, and a boy, were in charge. Besides an
ordinary cargo of 15 tons of potatoes, she had three
tons and a half of tobacco, principally manufactured.
The cutter is now being dismantled in Sutton. Har-
bour, and the contraband goods are lodged in tb.
Queen's warehouse.
Wind, easterly; very light.

THE BRAZILS.
FALMOUTH, MAT 19.—The Penguin packet, Lieut.
Leslie, arrived to-day with the Brazil mails, after a
very tedious passage, in consequence of light and
variable winds, having sailed from MO de Janeiro on
the 23d March. On freight, about 10,0001., of which
the greater part is in gold dust, for the Imperial
Brazilian Mining Association. John Luke, mine
captain, and the sailmaker and steward's mate of the
Penguin, died of the yellow fever the day the packet
sailed, and after she left Rio de Janeiro. Lieutenant
Leslie, and several of his crew, had a severe attack of
fever, but they quickly rallied after leaving the port
and getting into a colder climate. It is highly satis-
factory to be enabled to state that the accounts by
Inlarch the exchange was 28i
the Penguin are much more favourable, and that the
market fever
thewas
beginning
itnhni
ng
the decrease.
o f.
lilientheton
29 to
to 29 advanced,
and subsequently
coeval with the
ctoc f
purchases,itBel,
bu-
siness was done at 29i to 29k. Stock flatter; sales
at 87 to 86 to 86i, sPt cue,
little done, except in
Patriot doubloons at 29 dulls.' 550, and 29 dolls.; 600,
in payment of River Plate bills, and in old ports at
16 dolls. 650.

COFFEE.— Prices have scarcely varied from the 7th
March, when the sales amounted to 60,000 bags.
Since then nothing was noted. Of these, three car-
goes were for the Channel, two for the Mediterra-
nean, one Hamburg, one Copenhagen, and about
35,000 bags for the United States. Washed Coffee
was 675. ld.; superior, 635. 6d.; first good, 61s. Bd.
on board. Freights : a few vessels have been char-
tered at 30s. for the Channel.

British ships of war at Rio de Janeiro, Tweed, Ex-
press, and Crescent; French steamer Archimede;
American stor.ship Lexington; L'ortuguese, Vasco
de Game And .