The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-26 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, Nov. 24.—Her Majesty's ship Presi-
dent, 50, with the flag of Rear-Admiral Daeres, the
Commander-in-Chief at the Cape of Good Hope, sailed
yesterday morning, with a steady wind from the north.
A great number of merchant vessels, which had been
detained at the Motherbank and Cowes by contrary
winds, sailed in the course of the day.
The Admiralty have ordered the Childers, 16, and
Wanderer, 16, to be repaired by job, or task work, and
got ready for three years' service, without loss of time :
they will be brought down to the harbour forthwith aid
take❑ in hand. Another brig, the Harlequin, 16, will
be moved out of dock this week, and fitted for commis-
sion with all expedition ; it is conjectured the services
of these brigs will be required in India, or on the station.
'I he Rattler screw-steamer, has been brought into the
basin, and yesterday orders were received for her being
docked and repaired with all speed ; to do so, the arti•
fivers at work on the Amphitrite have been taken off
and put on the Rattler. She will be put into dock on
Friday. Being an experimental screw-steamer, she will
probably be kept on home service until further trials
have been made, and in that case she will be sent to
Ireland, in place of the Stromboli, and that steamer is
ordered to fit for foreign service.
The Dee steamer will sail to-morrow to Devonport,
and, having taken some marines on board, go on to Mil-
ford Miven, and land them there. She is afterwards to
proceed to Cork, and to be placed under the orders of
Rear-Admiral Sir Heigh Pigot.
The Retribution, Alarm, and Lizard are daily expected
from the eastward. 'The Retribution will embark a de-
tachment of marine artillery, under command of Second
Lieutenant Hall, and the crew be paid in advance ; and
at present it is intended she shall relieve the Gorgon at
the Brazils, she having been three years in commission.
The Alarm is to go to the West Indies, and will embark
Captain D. Pring, C 8., and his family for passage to
Jamaica, being appointed to command the Imaum,
reciving ship at that island, and hoist a second-class
commodore's broad pendant, and carry on the port
duties in the absence of the commander-in-chief ; the
Lizard is intended for packet service in the Mediter-
ranean.

Arrangements are orderi d to be made for the recep-
tion of her Majesty, Prince Albert, and the Royal
Family and suite, to-morrow, at the Clarence Victual-
ling-yard. The royal party are expected about noon,
and the branch railway from the Gosport terminus into
the yard having been completed some time, the carriage
will go direct to the jetty, and one guard of honour only
be requisite. The Bth Regiment are ordered to furnish
it, and Msjor• General the Hon. Sir Hercules Paken-
ham, Colonel Daly, and the staff of the garrison, will
cross to Gosport by the ten o'clock bridge. The cap.
tains and commanders of her Majesty's ships in the
port are ordered to be at the landing stairs, in their
respective boats, and escort the royal barge to
the Fairy yacht, in which the Queen and the
party will pass over to Osborne-house. Admiral
Sir Charles Ogle, Bart, will be in attendance to re-
ceive her Majesty. Captain Lord A. Fitzclarence has
arrived to take the command of the yacht ; and the
Victoria and Albert yacht has had her engines exercised
and fires lighted in case she should be wanted. His
Royal Highness Prince Alberl, before he returns to
London, will inspect the suite of apartments in the Ad-
miralty House in the dockyard, which has been ex-
pressly fitted up, *MO =maned for her Majesty's use,
and now ready fur occupation. The carriage and luggage
will be sent to Trinity-wharf, Cowes, in the Comet
steamer, Lieut. Prettyman.
A report has been prevailing this day in the garrison,
that the Bth Regiment are to be sent to New Zealand, to
augment the force, now absolutely necessary in that
colony. We can safely state that unless a brigade of
troops should be sent out the Bth will not go on foreign
service yet. The 24th and 32d Regiments stand on the
Roster First, and there are not !any orders relating to
the 24th, than that they are to come over from Ireland
in the spring.
SHEERNESS, Nov. 23.--Yesterday morning's post
brought orders here to refit, with all dispatch, all the
small craft available in this ordinary ; and the Electra,

18, the Snake, 16, and the Ferret, 10, are accordingly to
be taken in hand on Monday, and it is probable that the
Griffin, 6, when the probation of the Eclair's stores with
which she is loaded is over, will also be refitted for com-
mission. _ _ _

The Bittern, 16, just commissioned by Commander
Hope, and the Dido, 20, and Viper, 6, under repair in
dock, are also ordered to be expedited in their fittings.
The Euryalus, late convict ship, arrived on Friday in
tow of the Wildfire steamer. She is to be fitted as a
coal depot for this port, a convenience which was much
wanted here, in consequence of the trouble and expense
in coalin by boats and carts from the coal sheds.
The St. Lawrence, 46, has had the manouvrer re-
moved from her bottom, and delivered over to the in-
ventor, Mr. Fullerton.
The 'Trafalgar (120) Flag-ship The seaman
(Holmes) who lost both his arms by the accidental ex-
p osion of a gun, while exercising during the late ex-
perimental cruises, is going on favourably in Melville
Hospital, Chatham. Upwards of 3001. have been sub-
scribed for him by the officers and men belonging to th
Trafalgar.
Mr. Thomas Lewis, leading man of shipwrights, has
been superannuated from the Dock-yard on a pension
of 321. per annum ; and John Coulton and James
Walshe, labourers, on pensions of 241. and 151. respec-
tively.

EXPERIMENTS IN WOOLWICH MA .SUES, Nov. 24.
—Vice-Admiral Sir William Hall Gage, G.C.H., one of the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; Lord Wm. Lennox,
Sir Wm. Gossett, Capt. Sir Thos. Hastings, Knt., clerk of the
Ordnance; Major-General James Webber Smith, C. 8.; Col.
Cockburn, Col. Lacy, Col. Turner, C. 8., Lieut.-Col. Grant,
Lieut.-Col. Dansey, C. 8., &c., assembled in the marshes at
two o'clock P.M. to-day, to witness experiments with shells,
fitted with Sergeant-Major Freeburn's fusees, and also an inven-
tion by Capt. Addison, for heating shot to a red heat in a limited
time, and at less expense than by any plan hitherto adopted.
The experiments commenced with the fusees, and out of
twenty shells fired, twelve from two thirty-two pounder
guns, and eight from an eight-inch gun, seventeen exploded
on striking the bulk-head, with tremendous effect, throwing
the massive timbers, after they had been torn to pieces to a
considerable distance. Two of the shells did not explode,
and one being doubtful, was reported as not having exploded.
The result of the experiments with Sergeant-Major Freeburn's
shells was very satisfactory. No premature explosions will
take place with them, and the shells will explode by con-
cussion, on striking the object. The officers then proceeded
to witness the experiment with Captain Addison's furnace.
for red-hot shot. This invention has the appearance of a
miniature caravan placed upon four wheels, and contains a
furnace capable of heating thirty 32-pounder solid shot at
one time, and of being drawn by a horse from one part to
another. At an hour and a quarter after the fire had been
lighted, the shot were taken out, and readily set fire to
havings of wood. A fresh supply of cold shot was after-
wards added, and in twenty minutes they were taken out,
equally red hot; and the same quantity could be furnished
every twenty minutes for any length of time after the first.
This invention gave great satisfaction. Its weight has been
reduced to 1 ton 8 cwt. A tube capable of holding four red-
hot shot, and moving them close to the mouth of the guns
for which they may be required was tried, and appeared to
answer the purpose remarkably well.
A SHOCKING BAD SIXPENCE.—A short time ago
a chemist of this town happened to take a bad sixpence, and
putting it with other silver in his pocket, only discovered his
mistake when he tendered it for payment. It was refused of
course. A second time did he thoughtlessly and unconsciously
tender it, and a second time did lie receive it back again with
sundry apologies. Curiosity led him, on his return home, to
look at the deceitful coin, and applying his scientific know-
ledge, he dipped it—the coin we mean—in vitriolic acid.
Guess his surprise when he found that the brassy Brummagem-
looking little "varmint" proved to be a real, genuine, un-
alloyed, golden half guinea of George the First's coinage !
This is a literal fact, but we hope it will not encourage our
pensive public to take bad money on the speculation that it
may all turn out to be gold disguised as in some fairy tale
under some vile and counterfeit presentment.—Berke Chronicle.