The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-02-19 00:00:00

Sabal and fillitarg.

DUNNING DIULL AND BUDDIIX DIUTEL—An inquest
was held at Chatham on Wednesday night on the body
of William Smith, 22 years of ago, a private in the
109th Regiment, Bombay Infantry. The deceased was
at running drill on Monday afternoon, when he suddenly
showed symptoms of exhaustion, became insensible, and
died in about three hours from apoplexy. The jury
returned a verdict to that effect.

Ws understand that the scheme for the reorganisation
of the army in now nearly completed in its details,
which, when announced in the Hones of Commons, will
not be found to coincide in all points with the recent-
mendatimis of the Royal Commissioners on Recruiting.
The militia will be made ,Ito foundation of the active
army. Kern will be enlisted for 12 years instead of
10 as at present; seven of these will be spent in the army
available for general entries, the remaining five in the
militia under certain advantageous 000ditions. A
enesscre will be proposed for obtaining their farther
service at the end of 12 years. Non-eounnlnioned
officers and men will still be permitted to re-engsm in
the army and serve for pension. Sash, we believe, will
be the leading features of the plan. The difficulties of
the details are, of course, financial, but the Howe of
Commons will, without doubt, afford the Government
the means of carrying into effect their mamma if it can
be shown that it will Five the country sufficient available
fors for general service, and an efficient reserve to rely
upon in the ease of need.—The Owl.

Tux SoLoria's Brae—We hope that the ingenuity
of the military authorities in inventing and largely dis-
tributing • peculiar form of heart dines.* for the special
behoof of our soldiers will be duly appreciated by the
public. "Look at this preparation," says Professor
Mackin in the remarkable lecture delivered by him at
Netley. "Murk this remarkable white spot on the ex-
ternal surface of this heart. 111... large, you see, se •
five-shilling piece. What is it? Nothing, apparently,
but • substance analogous to • corn—as nsuch the result
of friction and undue pressure as are the torturing corns
with which we are afflicted by unskilful boot-makers.
We Gall it here 'the soldier's spot,' so common is lion
the hearts of soldiers at our poet modem examinations."
This "spot" is due to the heavy, cumbersome, ill-
arranged, and torturing accoutrement's of the soldier.
The amount of heart disease produced by the clumsy
eonstruetioos of the accoutresieots, as shown by the
statistics given, is moat startling; 1476 per cent, of the
men diesharpd in 1862 were lost to the service from
this cause. Heart diem*, moreover, is only the ex-
treme exponent of the suffering caused. It means also
constant and extensive inefficiency. distress, and slow-
ness in the field. The men labour on and suffer much,
rather than fall out and incur the imputation of being
"soft." Some have worked on through a field-day, and
died rather than give in. The British peek is, without
exception, the worst In Europe. The Prussian pack and
accoutrements are infinitely superior to ours ; aril by the
time that ours is improved the Prussians will likely be
still ahead of us, for they are now doing their utmost to
Improve what is already a long way ahead of anything
which we can show. We boos that the Peek Coin-
mitt., which is now sitting will soon complete their in-
vestigation, and that the authorities will lame no time in
relieving the army from the present in-contrived and
mi.chievons kua k and all its belongings.—BritisA
Medical .lo .