The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-05 00:00:00

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Capt. Leeds, at St. Thomas's. The Eagle, Capt.
at Jamaica ; the Thames, Cant. Woolward, on the '
ieh Main ; the Wye, Capt. Gillies, at Barbadoes.
Clyde had not arrived out at St. Thomas's when
Orinoco left.
Advices from Martinique bring intelligence of al be-' :
ginning having been given to the Franco-American ILne-•
of Teansatlantic Steamers. Both the Francois-Arago had
the Alma had made their.appearance in those seas. The •
Francois-Arago left Havre on the 30th Sept., was at
Cadiz from the 9th to the 12th of Oct., and arrived at
Martinique on the 2d Nov., between 9 and 10 a.m., thus '
taking 10 daya to Cadiz, and 22 days from that port to
Martinique—in all, 32 days. In the words of a Mar-
tinique paper—" This is certainly no master-stroke. In
those 32 days one of the English steamers would have •
accomplished with ease the voyage both out and home ;
and, if the Francois-Arago is not in a condition for bet-
ter work, serious thought should have been given t) put
her in hospital." After lying ten days at Martinique,
where her machinery underwent certain repairs and she
took in 350 tons of coal, she took her departure for
Guadeloupe, en route to New Orleans. She had on beard
602 tons of merchandise, 200 tons of flour for Guade-
loupe, 60,000 f. in valuables, and 83 passengers. The
second steamer of the F. ranco•American Company, the
Alma, arrived at Martinique on the 4th inst., and is
thus spoken of by the Outre-Mer of that date :
"We had reason to place confidence in the Alma. .
This vessel has justified all expectations. She left Havre •
on the 11th October, and has consequently accomplished
her transatlantic voyage, touching at Cadiz, in 24 days.
Without that stoppage she would have anticipated
the Eegligh steamer. We think we are right in say-
ing that the company would do well, in the interest
of the work it has undertaken, to discontinue this
stoppage at Cadiz, which must always prove a cause
of delay and of long voyages. The Alma left Havre
with 200 tons of merchandise and 60 passengers,
of whom four are for our colony—viz., MM.
.Ar-
non; chief superintendent of our military hospital,
Raoul Depaz, Dallier, and Estavard. The Alma, riding
at anchor beside the Arago, will start this evening in
continuation of her voyage. She has taken on board a
considerable portion of the passengers and freight of her
limping neighbour."

The Orinoco spoke on the 26th Dec. the ship
Prince Alfred, homeward bound, in lat. 30.56, long.
45.28.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The £2d Light Infantry depot at the provisional bat-
talion, Chatham, has received such a large number of
volunteers from other corps that the regiment, the eer-
♦ice companies of which are stationed in India, is in-
creased to its required establishment, and the recruiting
parties have been directed to join their. depot at Chat-
ham. The depot of the 26th Cameronians at Chatham
has also received a considerable number of volunteers
from ether corps, including several men from the 14th
Foot.

Lieut. his Serene Highness the Prince of Leiningen is
appointed to her Majesty's yacht Victoria and Albert.
H.M. steam sloop Hermes, 6, Commander Gordon,
arrived off Portsmouth in the night of Saturday, and
went up to Spithead yesterday. She goes to the Cape
of Good Hoye .
The steam troopship Simoom, 18, Commander Cooke,
will be ready for sea at Portsmouth by Sunday next.
The steam troopship Megmra, 6, Commander Purvis,
has shipped nearly all her crew, and has lower rigging
over the mastheads. She is, it is said, to embark troops
at Cork for conveyance to the Mauritius.
The operations at the new heaving-up slips at Hasler,
Gosport, where is established the berthing for the gun
and mortar boat flotilla, were completed last week by
taking up the gunboat Gnat. The process was perfect,
and proved the simplicity and practicability of the prin-
ciple in using one trunk line, and disposing of an hide-
finite number of vessels ,by lateral arrangement. The
Gnat was drawn up the main line 10 feet per minute,
and upon the transverse at the rate of 15. When oppo-
site the shed appropriated for her she was drawn into it
by a screw of three inches diameter, running the whole
length, and when in their berth was freed from the cradle
by four small bydrau ics ; the cradle was run from under
the vessel and placed on the trunk line to receive another.
The Government purpose laying up 200 of these gun and
mortar boats at Hasler.

A tremendous gale from the south-west was experi-
enced in the Channel on Friday night, and during its
height the screw steamship James Watt, 91, Captain T.
Y. Anson, and the steam frigate Shannon, 51, Captain
Wm. Peel, lying inside Plymouth Breakwater, parted
their chains and wore obliged to let go their best bowers.
Both got up steam to ease their moorings. On Saturday
uo,rning the Confiance and Zephyr steam vessels went
off from Devonport dockyard, and supplied them with
anchors and hemp cables. They will leave the first fair
wind, under canvas, for Lisbon.
The French steamship Joseph Perrier, Captain Huzey,
which left Southampton on Thursday for Charlestown,
United States, put into Plymouth Sound on Saturday.
Tne following appointments were made on Saturday
at the Admiralty

Commander A. D. W. Fletcher, to the Scourge;
Lieut. Samuel D. G. T. May, to the Formidable (for
ordinary) ; George P. Barney, second master, to the
Simoorn ; G. G. Duff, mate, t 9 the Hawke ; H. Kent,
mate, to the Simoorn ; J. D. A. Irvine, mate, to the
Simoom ; A. Eaton, mate, to the Hawke ; N. C. Barton
and C. It Gayer, mates, to the Meg era ; and the Hon.
C. Crofton, mate, to the Cornwallis.