Star. — London, England, 1809-04-06 00:00:00

SPORTING mrELLIGAYCZ. pIZWMARKET CRAVEN MEETING, lOC WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5. Grosvenor's b. c. Woodwell-head, by Whitelegs, boat tarbord's br. c. Generalissimo, by General, Bst. 41b. each. ioogc. b. ft.--Three to I on Woodwell-head. Thornhill% Ralphina, Bst. 71b. beat Ld Sackville's grey c. . Stamford, Bst. Ab. M. SOgs.-2 to 1 apt Ralphina. itwell's Clinker, beat Major Wilson's Juniper, Bst. 71b. C. 200 gs. h. ft.-Five to 4 on Clinker. , eepstakes of 100 gs. each. Two-year old Course. Armor's 1. Chryseis, by Asparagus, out of Lady Jane 1 tyne's f. Zoraida, by Don Quixotte, out of Lady Cow 2 f Cavendish's f. by Ambrosio, out of Spinster - lrafton's 1. by Sorcerer, out of Pepp&mint - 4 7 to 4 against Chryseis. slption Plate of 250, for 4-yr olds 7st. 3-yr olds Bst. 71b. and 4-yr olds 9st. Two-yr old Course. luabury's b. f. Agnes, by Sorcerer, 3 yrs old all 1 . Cavendish's b. c. Hymen, 3 yrs old - 2 Orb b. c. by Gohanna, 2 yrs old ,es's b. c. by Hambletonian, 2 yrs old. averie's b. c. Red Cross Knight, by St. George, S yrs old. 'yndham's ch. c. Election, 4 yrs old. ,ake's h. f. Nymphina, 4 yrs old. losveror'sb f. Mop, by Sir Peter, out of Maid-of-all • • 2 yrs old. svenor's b. c. Woodwell-head, 2 yes old . - dr Gratton's ch. f. Morel, 3 yrs old - - - dr The Judge could place but 3.-S to I agst Agnes. ransittart's Burleigh, Bst. 21b. beat Mr. Shakespeare's Dis st. 71b. R.M. 200g5.-2 to 1 on Burleigh. Third Class of the Oatlands Stakes of .50p. each, IL ft. D. I. 19nbury's b. 1. Agnes, by Sorcerer, S yrs old, 7st. - 1 Grosvenois Sunbeam, 3 yrs old, 7st. 121 b. - - 2 e 5 j Mass Sophia, 3 yrs old, 6st. 81b. - L 3 dbroke's br. 1. Trisnbush, 3 yrs old, 7st. Ilb. C. BrownesDsiville, .5 yrs old, 814. - - sb a kapeare i e Zodiac, aged, 9st. 101 b. - - Twenty-two paid forfeit. to 1 apt Agnes, 4to I apt Sunbeam, 7 to S apt Miss and 2 to 1 agst Zodiac. . 4 - 5 THE ARMY. • OBSERVATIONS Sly TVS RANSACKS OE THIS COUNTRY, TS RESPECT TO THE COMFORT 07 THE ARMY ; WITH STRICTURES ON THE DCITSIS, &C. OP THE OPPICERS EMPLOYED IN THAT DEPARTMENT.—Xoncludedfromresterday's STAR. The scite chosen for the erection of a barrack should be similar to that preferred for a standing encamp ment. No sinister interest, or undue influence should NAV4L INTELLIGENCE. predominate in the choice of the spot, which should be the most healthy, not the cheapest and most at tainable. The barracks ought not to be built on the summit of a hill, but rather on a gentle slope, or rising ground, where good water is procurable in suf ficient quantity. The aspect of the building should not be exposed to the N. E. wind. The ground should be amply sufficient for every purpose, and should be always well inclosed with a high wall, or strong railing, not easily to be scaled. Besides the ground necessary for erecting the dif ferent buildings, a large space should be set apart for a parade. Every barrack, capable of containing one thousand men, should have a parade ground at least 250 yards long, and 150 broad ; this would include a space equal to nearly eight acres. A separate spot of ground should always be enclosed for the hospital, and for the uses of the patients, &c. The following buildings and convenlencies should pertain to every barrack of any considerable mogul , tude, viz. Officer's guardroom and guard- Soldiers' cleaning-rooms, house, Soldiers' messing-rooms, Black h oles, or dungeons, Married soldiers rooms, Cooking-houses, Taylor's, shoemaker's, and ar. Wash-houses, mourer's work-shops, Stole-rooms, Stables, forage-barn, A large hospital, Barrack-master's store-rooms, Staff Serjeants' room, Water-engine house. Without all these essential requisites a barrack must be considered as incomplete, and unfit for the' purpose of troops. It is owing to deficiences of bar rack conveniencies that buildings have been converted from necessity to other purposes than those for which they were originally intended : hence it is not uncoil); mon to find sleeping-rooms converted into cleaning. rooms, taylors and shoemakers shops ; cooking-room into wash-house, &c. &c. &c. The sleeping-rooms of the soldiers should never be larger than 36 or 40 feet long, and 2 4 feet broad; and no room of this size should be suffered to contain more than 20 men, and each man should have a se parate bed. Bedsteads are preferable to fixed births for the soldiers, because the former may be removed and washed, and they admit of the rooms being more effectually cleaned when not encumbered with fix tures. Two small ventilators in the cieling of each room, constructed in such a manner as to be occa sionally shut up, are perfectly sufficient, with the as sistance of fire for the purpose of circulating the air of the apartment, without the farther aid of perfora tion through the walls and roofs, communicating with the external air. Married soldiers, with their families, should always be separated from the other men. Delicacy and propriety point out the necessity of this measure. The size of the guard-house should always be in proportion to that ofthe barrack ; and if the barrack is capable of containing more than one corps, there ought to be separate guard-houses for each corps.— This, at least, is always desirable. The dungeons, or black-holes, as they are called, are always impfo perly built. Being intended as places of punishment for offenders of a certain description, the principal object that has been kept in view in the construction of black-holes, seems to be to render them as gloomy and horrible as a Turkish jail : they are, threefore, generally built in such a manner as to exclude the air and light, and are partly below the level of the ground, so that they are necessarily close and un wholesome. Celprits, condemned to such solitary ) mansions of penance and misery, are liable to suffer' from real causes of sickness, sometimes for many days together. To render confinement in black.' holes a terrific punishment, it is scarcely possible to, disunite it from danger. Uninterrupted solitude, the dreary contemplation of the dungeon walls, and d* privation of a bed, for several long days and cheer less nights, are sufficient of themselves to inspire dread, in ordinary cases, without the concomitant LOUTH, AND PLYMOUTH DOCK, APRIL 4. led, after post last night, the SWALLOW, of 18 :aptain MILNER, from Milford ; the TEamii of 18 ditto, from Chatham ; and the Neptune ider, from Dublin, with impressed men.— Cawsand Bay, the VALIANT, of 74 guns, the fleet off Rochefort ; and the SANDWICH igger, on a cruize to the westward ; TRIUMPH, the eastward; and CONTEST gun-brig, with )1 victuallers under convoy for the squadron :hefort. M.—The signal has just been made for the ;ANT to get under weigh, and she is expected this evening. PORTSMOUTH, APRIL 5. his Majesty's ship ST, ALBAN'S, with the ig ships •under convoy, viz. the Coutts, Mar- Ely, Glatton, Royal Charlotte, Princess Ame tmes, and Albion, for the East Indies ; Sir S. BRANDFORD, for the Cape of Good Hope ; Trance, ISBETER, for Madeira ; and the Lark, IN3, for Lisbon. His Majesty's ship CQMET is tted convoy •for Newfoundland, &c. and will .morrow. Wind N. E. fine breeze. DOVER, APRIL 5. • le hi this day, with the loss of all her anchors ►les, the brig Senhora de Bom Successo, Cap• :e FaAwcisco REIZ, of and from Faro, with a 4f fruit, bound to London.—Arrived hi the from a cruize, the ROYALIST, BADGER, CHI and ROLLA Sloops ; the former remains, the ater.sailed again this afternoon.—Passed by, several sail of vessels from Portsmouth for mins. The Mary transport (U M) arrived !sterday with stores 'from Plymouth.—Wind and moderate. DEAL, APRIL B. d through the Downs the Jane, JACKS, for .—Came down from Sheerness, the PANDORA, !mains in the Downs with the rest of the ships last.—Wind N. E. _ YARMOUTH, APRIL 6, perils of exposure to damp and confined air in ins- 1 .ved this morning a Danish privateer, taken by p roper . cells. In cases where ' this mode of penites tiary punishment should not be deemed adequate to RANGER sloop of war, in the Cattegat • she moun t', . the offence, the additional horror of abstinence may n• large guns besides swivels. After she was be inflicted, and the delinquent may be loaded with 1 Ned by the English, she fell in with and engaged irons. But in all prisons of this nature, the principal' vanish Indiaman for an hour and a half, and was objects to be attained are gloom and security, with -ins to carry her by boarding, when two priva- out risk of health. The number of cells, or divisions hove in sight, which obliged them to leave for one man each, are generally too few. A barrack for 1000 men should have at least six separate dun (—they had only one man killed, none wounded. geons. Each dungeon should be eight feet long and Lively, ELDRIDGE, of and from London, boundi lour broad. Except the entrance, no part should be atenburgh, with sundries, is put in, having I, open but the top or roof, which should be eight or ten ' a leak.—Remain the ROEBUCK, Vice-Admiral : feet from the ground. Each prison should have a window, or glass casement at the top to open and As ; ALEXANDRIA frigate, CALYPSO sloop, and shut, over which should be a strong iron grating ; izaa gun-brig.—Wind E. N. E. and each prison should have .a door to itself to fasten FROM LLOYD'S LIST. on the outside, or in the irea or outer passage. The \vastno, Arm s.—Passed by the Whim, Dalziel ; and bench or bedstead of each cell should be moveable, )olwich, Boford, L-om Gibraltar; Joseph,. Dickenson, from I . - Jurgh ; Drummond, Richmond ; Titus,Haslop ; and the l and occasionally taken out to air. ;arrington, Bennington, from Malta. Sailed the Marquis In the building of soldiers barracks it would be ad- Ilesley, Le Blanc, for India; and the Fame, Harvey, for • vantageous if every four or five rooms were distinct ulerr f • from the others, so that the men of each company ivxn.--In Standgate Creek, the 'Thomas, Dixon, from should have a separate door, and not intermix with ar; andthe Isla, Bowden, front Malaga. At Portsmouth, the men of other companies. lin, M`Leod ; Cynthia, Waytk ; and the Rolla, Sprin g aU, Malta. At Liverpool, the Hope, Orchard, from Malta; Serjeants should always have rooms separated from Cunningham, from Gottenborgh ; _,Jane, Maßenzie, and the men. The practice of lodging Non-commissioned :ass, Parker, from Newfo un dlan d. At Plymouth, the Officers among private soldiers tends to breed famili in Packet, Richardson, from Gijon. At Hull, the Advice, i and relax discipline ; the propriety of separa , from Gottenburgh . At Burnt Wand, the Ann Jane, Ro- arity , from Gottenburgh. At Beaumaris, the Sarah, GW,frum I Don is therefore obvious. 'bur g h. A t Cork, the Friendship, Butler, from SL Übe's ; I Before we quit this part of our subject, it is proper Trader, Bell, from London; and the Concepti'n, O'Neil, , to remark, that the proportion of fuel allowed to the iLdta. At Belfast, the Catharine, Brown • and Union , i so ldier s should always be regulated according to the from Mdta • Sally, —..:..; Trial, Conran, mid the Sophia, . - arg, from Alicant. At Madeira, the Marla, Cowley, from necessities of the troops, the actual state of the weather, :rix,ol ; Emilia, Bulphin, from Bristol ; and the Mary; Gib. • and the nature of the barracks. The time of the year, front Lisbon. I and the number of men, are erroneous and uncertain 'le Two Sisters, Ingate, from Nevis to Loudon, data whereon to regulate the issue of fuel, being both itured and carried into 'Granville. . - , very variable. The heat and coldness of the weather, l ie Christiana Maria, Martinson, from Stockholm, the feelings of the men, and the construction of the .aptured in the Sound, by the Danes. , grates and cookery places, are the only sure and best The Augusta, Campbell, from the Clyde to Ja- criteria. la, which sailed from Cork•Stlst January, under j Officers' barracks should beat a sufficient distance 43y of his Majesty's ships Mr/11a and Phipps, from those of the soldiers.. The most convenient form !cl 48 hours after sailing ; and, after experiencing for Officers' barracks is a series of separate buildings serous weather for 23 days, was totally wrecked, of four, six, or eight rooms each, on one or two It four leagues from Fignera, on the coast of floors, with a good kitchen on each floor. The size ' , nal, 13th•Ftb,-.—Mate and five' Men drowned. and abape of tie cofficco' barracks are in general as SPORTING I isiZWMARILET WEDNESD4 G e n. Grosvenor's b. c. Cot fiarbord's br. c. Genera li Q' . ! p os s. h. ft.--Tlnie to Mr. Thornhill% Ralphtna, I wi t, by Stamford, fist. Ab. Sir &Sitwell's Clinker, beat Y. C. 400 gs. h. Fit s w eepstakes of 100 gs. ei G e n. Grosvenor's 1. Cbryseis, 1 p a yne's f. Zoratda, by Do G. Cdih sf.by At p o ke oG raft n's 1. b 7 y to So 4 rcer agi A subscription Plate of 250, and 4-yr olds 9st. si e C. Bunbury's b. f. Agnes, I A G. H. Cavendish's b. c. H Stawelrs b. c. by Gohanna, gr. Ellen's b. c. by Hamblen gt gouverie's b. c. Red Cros N i r , W y nd h am ' ch. c. Electice y r .lake's b. f. Nymphina, OGrosveitor'sb f. Mop, by Works, 2 yrs aki• G,n, G ro svenor's b. C. Woods p i llte of Gratton's ch. E More The Judge could plan Mr. Vanshtart's Burleigh, 1 a unt, Bst. 7111. R.M. 200 gs— . Third Class of he °mix Sr C. BunburY's b. I t . A gne s, Glosvesee's Sunbeam, 3 y E i we ee Its Sophia, s sr. sr . L a dbrokes sr. 1. Trirnbt .C. Brownes 5 t. sh i kopeare l s Zodiac, al Twenty-t E v en to 1 agst Agnes, 4 t 544.3, sad 2 to 1 agst Zodi: NAV4L IN PLYMOUTH, AND PL' A r rived, after post lat g ;^.,, Captain MILKER, G INT, of 18 ditto, from (1) tender, from Dubl Sailed from Cawsand Bt to join the fleet off Rc hiedlugger, on a cruize ci74., to the eastward; a fiat of victuallers uni off Rochefort. 5 P. M.—The signal TERMAGANT to get undt to sail this evening. F ORTSMO 1 Sailed his Majesty's following ships • under cl quis of Ely, Glatton, Ri La, Thames, and Albior Smith, BRANDFORD, for Perseverance, ISBETER, HAWKIN3, for Lisbon. appointed convoy •for tail to-morrow. Wind • DOVEI Came in this day, wi sad cables, the brig Sei feria JOZE FRANCISCO RI cargo of fruit, bound Roads from a cruize, ROKEE, and RoLLA slot three latter.sailed agai this day, several sail of the Downs. The Mt here yesterday with st E.N.E. and moderate. DEAI Sailed through the Cadiz.—Came down 1 and remains in the Dc is per last.—Wind N. YARMO Arrived this rnornin, the RANGER sloop of w ted four large guns b manned by the Englisl Danish Indiaman fa preparing to carry her steers hove in sight, ter--they had only of —The Lively, ELDRID to Gottenburgh, witl sprung a leak.—Rema DOUGLAS; ALIZANDR 811117.111 FROM GIATISZND, Arm S.- the Woolwich, Boford, La Gertenbur g h ; Drummond Lord Carrington, Donning! of Wellesley, Le Blanc, f Londonderry. &stet D.—ln Standgat Gibraltar • andthe Isla, Bot the lirm:M‘Leod ; Cyntli from Malta. At Liverpo Thetis, Cunningham, fron the Success Parker, fron Lontion Pa cket, Ricbardsc Major, from Gottenburgh bin on, from Gottenburgh, Gottenburgh. At Cork, Neath Trader, Bell, from from Malta. At Belfast, --, from Mdta • Sally, Limburg, from Alicant. Lien-y. 01; Emilia, Bulpb lon, front 1 Ishon , The Two Sisters, is captured and carril The Christiana Ma is captured in the Sot The Augusta, Ca n laicas which sailed convoy of his Maje Parted 48 hours after boisterous weather ft about four leagues hinds 13th:ktba, various and absurd as the men's ; and, though very inconvenient, we much doubt whether they have proved less expensive than barracks of a more t.t. tioaal and commodious construction. We cannot omit this opportunity of noticing dur absurd and unjust distribution of accommodation to officers, which is, in many instances, disgusting.— How often do we see old officers, even Lieutenant- Colonels by brevet, generously permitted to occupy one room, and in this respect pla ce d on the same footing with the boy-Ensign, who, but yesterday, had his breech exposed to the lash of the merciless pedagogue! But Master having now become an Ensign or Cor net, is entitled to the same quarters, and the same allowance of coal and candle, as the veteran officer, who had probably _bled for his country, before the former was born ! A married officer should have better accommoda tion than his rank allows him, and it would be desir able that families were accommodated apart. We have now finished our remarks on the state and requisites of Barracks ; but to render the Bar- racks useful, it is absolutely necessary that they be kept always in good repair. The miseries suffered by the troops in consequence of studied delays, and offi cial procrastinations, in repairing barracks, are some times very great, particularly where the Barrack- Master is ignorant and negligent. To remedy such sufferings and inconveniencies, in cases requiring prompt relief, a certain discretionary power should be granted to the Commanding Officer of each barrack, to cause a survey to be made, in conjunction with the Barrack Master, and the Clerk of the Works, and to direct the most urgent repairs to be immediately made ; a special report of their proceedings ought, of course,.to be transmitted to the Commissioners of the Barrack Department. Without such a provi sional authority, the damages done to the buildings by storms, &c. would often be productive of great sufferings to the troops, before the necessary repairs would be taken into consideration. It cannot be deemed improper in this place to offer a few observations on Barrack Canteens; a subject of no small importance, which, with good or bad ma nagement, may be converted to essential benefit, or become fraught with dangerous abuses in a barrack. The licenses granted to the keepers of these places are regularly disposed of to the highest purchaser.--; The ostensible and avowed object in view in the to:, leration of places of this sort; is the comfort of the soldier ; but it is very questionable whether the sanc- ' tion of these establishments is productive of any real' benefit to the service ? On the. one hand, it may be said that the soldier has it in his power conveniently' to furnish himself with whatever liquors or articles such places afford, without loss of time, and without being at the trouble to seek them at a distance from his quarters. On the other hand, it may be objected that, as these canteens are licensed at what may be , considered an exorbitant rate, the holders are temp ted to sell their liquors, &c. at an advanced rate, to ' cover their expences (which is literally the case), or they are so hardened as to substitute liquors of an in ferior, and often unwholesome quality; that the open ing of such places in the very face of the men, is an incitement to drunkenness and irregularity, and that there are many soldiers who, without such a tempta tion perpetually before their eyes, would seldom think of frequenting the liquor-shop, but who, unable to , resist so strong and constant an impulse, become, in the end, votaries to Bacchus, and negligent and pio f fligate soldiers. It is also objected againt canteens, that in situations, where they are not tolerated, it is impossible to prevent drunkenness among the soldiery, by confining the most dissolute and abandoned to the precincts of the Barracks, and only permitting the most orderly and regular soldiers the indulgence of passes to visit the neighbourhood, for the purpose of providing themselves with the articles they may re- quire. But while canteens fl ourish, such restrictions ' answer no good end. From what we have above said, and what we have learned from the best authorities, on this subject, we are confident that Barrack Canteens, as they are now tolerated and conducted, are, in many instances, un questionably pejudicial, instead of being really use ful, to the service. The high rent given by the can , teen-keeper for his licence, renders his profits very uncertain, as this must depend on the number of sol diers in the barrack, but more upon the number who frequent the canteen. In several regiments the soldiers are enabled to procure liquors from other sources than the regular canteens ; and although there is a posi tive public order prohibiting the sale of liquors, &c. within the barracks, except by the person licensed, there are occasional instances of this order being in fringed or evaded. This is another great drawback on the profits of the canteen-keeper, particularly as the illicit venders of liquors and other articles, can afford greatly to undersell the retailer who pays high for a licence. All Barrack Canteens, which are intended for the real benefit and convenience of the soldier, should not be, strictly speaking, Liquor Shops only, but respec table marts for all kinds of provisions and other ar ticles usually wanted by the soldiers. It would be desir able that the venders were restricted to the sale of malt liquors and cyder, as the general unrestrained sale of spiritous liquors is destructive to the health and morals of the soldiers, and in the end saps their constitutions. It would, at all events, be very necessary that the liquors, &c. -vended to the soldiers, were frequently inspected by a Committee of Officers appointed to meet bn the spot, under the authority of the Com manding Officer of the station or barrack. The Committee would find :t essential to ascertain that the liquors sold were of a good and wholesome qua lity, and that nothing was sold at an extravagant rate. The weights and measures used by the Can teen-keeper should also be regularly submitted to the usual examination of the police officers.• Defaulters in any of the above particulars should be prosecuted by the civil magistrate, ...cording to the nature of the.offence, either by mulct, or in more serious in. stances, by imprisonment ; and they should, more over, be made to forfeit their licence. Every Canteen should be-shut up at a regular hour in the evening, not i iter than the beating of the tat too, under the risk of the most severe penalties. We come, lastly, to conclude our remarks, with a few words on the duties, &c. of the Officers employed in the Barrack Department The formation of a Board for the direction of the Barrack Department, is undoubtedly proper, and it is of the utmost consequence that ;' should of sea who are not only possessed of know. ledge and respectability for such an important situ a. 60n, bet are in every edser respect fully competent. to the office. The Barrack Commissioners, individually, possess no military authority whatever ; collected, they are 'vested with a certain share of controul, en ofwio, derived from the Secretary at War and the Com mander in Chief, over the Barrack Masters, and, in matters connected with the department, in some'mea sure, relating to Commanding Offictrs having the re sponsible occupation of Barracks ; but their immedi• ate controul extends only to the Barrack Masters.-- The great source of their auth( ity for conducting expenditure is the Board of the Treasury. The present Board of Commissioners have intro. duced . several salutary changes and improvements into the Department ; and if the late system of Bar rack direction was taxed with the charges of profu sion and extravagance, whatever be the faults of the present Board, we believe the Army, en maw, would readily exculpate them from the slightest suspicion of ! an accusation of so unconstitutional a nature. The situation of Barrack Keepers or Barrack Mas ters, as they are improperly stiled, is filled by persons of all denominations, and taken from almost every rank of society. This, perhaps, may be accounted for, from the &T.:coley of obtaining respectable can didates for the appointment. No military rank is .at tached to the office, his Majesty having been graci ously pleased to abolish it, and to render the situation entirely of a civil nature. The duties of Barrack Masters are not difficult, and do not require much activity, either of body or mind ; the place is, therefore, often filled by persons advanced in life, who are desirous of a small addi. tion to their income in retirement. The appointment is not ostensibly purchased, but securities are ch.m.i 1- ided to an amount regulated by the size and ante of the barrack. This situation is not unirc ; quently filled by superannuated Army Officers, who sometimes dispose of their commissions by sale, and, , being partial to the society of the military, to which they had been accustomed, contrive to enjoy a corn fortable retirement in the decline of life. And it is perhaps right that old and meritorious officers, whose prospects and future advancement in the Army had been cut off by disappointments or premature old age, brought on by hard sufferings, should be, in some measure, rewarded in this manner, for their strvices, ' provided they are not otherwise unfit or objectionable for such a situation. Indeed, such men are very de sirable, as they are, besides, acquainted from experi ence with the nature of some of the duties. We can not, however, suppress mentioning a general com plaint made by the Army of a degree of assumed con sequence affected by some Barrack Masters, to which their situation does by no means entitle them.— , Whenever this complaint is made against a decayed officer, who shall be found to have conducted him ' self with an unbecoming degree of insolence or con tumacy in the discharge of his duty as Barrack Mas ter, it will be found on inquiry, that the offender bad been compelled to sell or quit the service from some former misconduct or incapacity ; and the removal of such an useless person fr..,m his present office cannot be too soon effected for the good of the service. It is well known that there have been several old decay- ed Officers of this description, who, having long ago sold their rank in the service, have the extreme folly and presumption, not only to retain the empty appel lation of the highest commission they had formerly held in the Army, but vainly to arrogate to them ! selves all the respect and consideration usually at tached thereto. The great age and infirmity of some of these men cover a multitude of their faults; and it being recollected that loss of memory and imbecility of mind are the frequent concomitants of old age, they are usually regarded as objects of pity. Barrack Masters are allowed a person to act under them, who is generally an old Serjeant. This assis tent greatly lessens the duties of the Barrack-keeper. Besides local Barrack Masters, resident at the dif. ferent barracks, there is stationed in every district an other officer, called an Assistant Barrack Inspector General. This officer, like the Barrack-keeper, is not vested with any military rank, nor is it easy to define the nature of his ditties. It is still more diffi cult to explain the necessity of swelling out the num ber of Staff Officers, already too numerous, in all the military districts, by the addition of an officer, whose utility is, at best, very doubtful. If the local Barrack keepers are active and competent, the situation of District Barrack Inspector must be considered as next to . a sinecure place ; and while the duties of this De partment continue to be carried on and ratified be tween the Board and the local Barrack-keepers, with ! out any reference to the District Barrack Inspector, as is the case at present, we apprehend that the ap pointment of the latterrauk is superfluous, and should be discontinued. Before concluding these remarks on the subject of the Barrack Department, it might be expected that we should bestow some consideration on the incre dible expence incurred by, or rather charged to, the country, for the building and ground-rents, &c. of barracks ; and also on the very costly system of sur vey and measurement which have been carrying on • for several years past, of most of the barracks in this country, by order and at the expence of Government, with a view to ascertain the extent to which the coun try had been defrauded in the erecting of barracks. Both these subjects might supply an ample theme for discussion ; but we have already reached the limits prescribed for these observations. Saturday last the Act, permitting volunteering from the militia into the regulars, was read to the Lancashire, West York, Dorset, and Devon regi ments of militia, stationed at Plymouth and the neighbourhood. A considerable number of the Lan cashire immediately volunteered Their services, but the other three regiments seemed rather shy of the measure, and very few have as yet turned out. An impostor, who pretended to a supernatural heal ing power, lately made his appearance at Lincoln, where he undertook to cure all human maladies by touching the part affected. Notwithstanding his wretched appearance, the credulity of the people was so great, that his lodging was crowded with patients, many of whom paid fees for admission. In three days he obtained ie32, when the Mayor lodged him in the city gaol as a deserter from the Militia. Died on Wednesday night, at his house, Battersea, Lsq. tediy proper, ana It Inca on wegnesaAy nignt, at MS apace, Dattatea v S it should be corn- ' ALUANDSK CIiAMPIOI4, Esq. ~` i _ 1 n