The Express.
London, England, 1856-12-30 00:00:00

DEPOT BATTALIONS.

The quiet, serious, hilt monastic old city of
Chichester scarcely knows itself this Christmas, and the
mist of the holly boughs is quite eclipsed by the sestet
jackets of the military. Ball mese to boll, party to
party, while the monks end nuns of the olden time are, to
some mite, well replaced by " the fair women and brave
ma," who mistreat well with its time.tried and ivy-covered
wall& Chitheeter, by rime, probably, of its mild, equable,
and, to ace emetatuticas, congenial climate, has beta
seined for the experiment of a depot battalion, sad 'Bow-
leg to the amber of oilers who are as leave, se usual at
this season, the complement is neatly made up. The
Weeks are capable of aesommodatieg about six hundred
Limey and two troops of cavalry, and the site is particu-
larly cheerful has its elevation sad freedom from all the
sammories that commonly surround barracks. The Loudon
road passes them in front, sad oa all side. ere Mae epos
&Ids, with only a Mop eatteted here sad dm to give
sign if local !Waitangi. If troops behaved well
anywhere, it should be la the barracks at Chichester,
and it is generally asksowledged that they do.
lasted of hap prison-looking brick building,, the Chi-
chester barracks ere composed of buts, better built indeed,
bat reminding one of Aidershott; each hat is capable of
accomodatias sixteen met. Notwithstanding all that has
bees said end written, the Molester barracks have no
provides to married man—n number of women balms to
the depot, bat they lodge la the city ; by this somas sem,
fag, it is tem the requirements of ordinary Mosey, altoge-
ther dialed to the wives of our brave fellows It British
beruks, bat at an outlay sadly beycad the mem of the
private. Thittempenes • day, which leaves a edam of
fleaspeate to his family, when all unitary exposses ore
iodated, is sot well calculated to provide very convenient
eighty tee the wife of the soldier ; still eo it is, end decant
pee* malty select the alteenative of hard work, with
balialsoustity to barrack room and &gradates. How-
ever, there is empissation In Wracks as elsewhere. So
that, while goverment sad the War Minister yet sessidse
it to be their duty to impel immorality, as it wen, it the
army, by makings night barrack room cameos to sambas
of ell Ines, when soldiers' Widen are to be " dressed
up," under Wasson sash es this system provides, there
is yet • eahool, and • normal schoolmate ; so that they
who believe in precept rather than sample In
Wails Mites, sad think that the Rale of Three,
with some 111111attorlag about the sic of the earth
and the phaem of the moos, will do away with the teatime
I sad immoral baseness of oaths and anathemas', may
take comfort and slag (mass, for the slate sad born book
are not lashing. There is ao chapel, the school-recur being
used foe that purpose, and tke chaplain is a pelmet well
knows se Mies bet leag at Seayras, to which plea,
daring the war, which we have now, by the way, nearly
fergetem, he assompealed • bead of susses- And this ro-
ma& ems that the Chided', barracks mess an hospital
amable of resolving 64 patios% with the mal arrange-
mesa of Bergson and orderlies, and a cook, who doubt-
iem,lk.. almost all the military hospital socks one net
hand of, makes bad broths and ..notable puddings; bet,
lareaMnly the sick of Chichester become so soon ems.
sassy, list the broths and puddings are of lets easements
dm they wore to many of the same poor .on whoa
Musk with fever end dysentery on the Tarkhi
hie. firm WU the wonder and provide °, of
the clam out there, yet we don't hear of mili-
tary etas bees a whit better instructed now as •
malt of what the poor fellows of in the ooremems-

nest of Au esiderii eispeiga; sad if oar armies west
forth again the lane dirty water would, no doubt, repro.
net the map, the Iwo lupe of deur lad water the pud-
ding, the seas knotty parklp the steel, that they did
boron.

The Chichester Battalion aossists of four depots—the
20th, 22nd, 97th, mid 4th Light Dragoon, Colonel Alm-
hunt essumading. The 97th are stemmed to force, num-
batten *boat 200 men, the 20th and 226 d have some thirty
each, sad the 4th Light Dragoons are about seventy strong.
Them are regiments much distioguished both for service
sad good condset. The 4th Dragoons, as everybody knows,
cheered on their men among the snows of the Afghan
mounta'as; the 22nd mode their notable charges against the
Beloache chiefs of the burning plates of Pandh, with
a Napier at their heed ; the 97th gathered around
the Parthenon to hold it 'entity the ennobling capital
of miserable Gnome ; and thus here, I. this quiet spot, are
gathered men of varied natures and ezperienees widely
differing, the Crimea their latest topic, while the nisi is
making bow this miming plan will answer. Old soldiers
shake their heads. It will destroy, they say, ell uprit de
corps. Yen like their own adjutants, their own old 'yeti's,
and every adjutant is certain to have his own crotchet, and
though his own men are drilled to like his crotchet as they
are drilled to the goom step, others don't, am are to change
tt old lamps for sew." The same with all the staff. The plan
creme to simplify the matter, bat old red.ents whisper that
it may but reader diseiplioe more difficult. Time mot
prove this, for the depot battalion plan is goodly one of the..
mitten which only env/Hence man prove. Systems, theories,
mediae, are all admirable in their way, for they sound and
look so prettily ; but the point is, how will they work?
" tke bow a bun fact will pat you dews," says the
dramatist, and when we Wing militant's to our systems,
Baum philosophy to cur theories, and the winding key to
our models, It somirtiuses happens that neither will week,
but that they fail us aisersbly--some little detail, 0011111
apparently trilling fad, es whisk all nried, having boos