The Express.
London, England, 1861-09-21 00:00:00

MILITARY SCANDAL AT GIBRALTAR.

We read in the Army awl Nary Gazette :—" A
general court-martial is about to sit, or probably Is now
sitting, at Gibraltar upon • cue which has excited ea
much noise in that oommisod, and is happily of so very
unusual a character in her Majesty's service, that we con.
eider ourselves justified in laying before our readers such
wanders as have reached our ears. It would
appear that in the 2nd battalion of the 7th Fusi-
liers • aeries of robberies had been g.dng on
for some months past,and that there was scarcely en officerof
the regiment but had more or leas suffered from this depre-
dation. Watches, rings, trinkets, purses, plate,•—io short,
all articles of a light and valuable nature disappeared is
the most extraordinary manner from the quarters of the
officers : servant& without end were discharged on suspicion,
bat no clue to the thief or thieves could be discovered. At
length Major Btrtwhistle resolved to bring pieta= so far
as possible to • climax ; and assembling the officers in
the anteroom of the mesa, he pointed out the absolute
necessity of solving the painful mystery ; and, by way of
example, proposed that a committee of officers should
be named on the spot to search the barracks, commencing
with their own rooms. All present willingly assented, with
the exception of one officer, Ensign Lovendge, on whom, all
it happened, some slight sort of suspicion bad already fallen,
from au °vassal he had shown in discharging his servants,
sad offering personally • reward of 604. for the discovery
of the guilty parties. He was most righteously indig-
nant at the proposition, and declared that ha
rooms should not be subjected to such au indig.
nity. We need scarcely say that this opposition at
once strengthened any fioatsng idea against him' sod
Major Btrtwhistle, with praiseworthy firmness, at ones
declared that the rooms should be at once searched,
and his the very first. The committee was instantly
named, and on proceeding to the quarters of Ensign Love.
ridge, they found in • very few minutes the whole of the
missing property, to the vale* of no less than 300/., cos.
coaled in cushions, chair-seats, rewed up in the ends
of sheets, and in fact most artfully concealed. Painfal
as were these revelations, they were as nothing com-
pared to the relief infused throughout the regiment
by the suspicions and unjust stigmas removed
from the heads of many humble yet innocent
people. There is, however, • still more distressing feature
in die matter. It oozed out, as things will ooze out when
once the wedge has been inserted, that another officer had
been for some time put aware of the guilt of the culprit,
had detected him in the act of easing a Lousy comrade of
his Beverages, and in • weak =meat of temptation bad
been prevailed upon to take • part as bush money, and
keep the secret. He too is to be tried. Perhaps still
more extraordinary is the fact that since these miserable
circumstances became known, a banker on the Rook has
produced a letter of credit in favour of Ensign Lever-
age, amply supplying him with funds ; so that should
he prove to be guilty, the temptation to commit this
evil cannot be imputed to the ordinary preserve of want of
means, and is indeed scarcely to bs accounted for. How.
ever this may be, and we shall doubtless hear more about
the matter, we can only at present offer a word of sympathy
to the officers of the 7th Fusiliers, in that such a calamity
should have fallen upon the domestic ecooomy of so distin-
guished a regiment ; and at the same time express our seta.
faction at the prompt and firm measures they adopted for
rooting out the evil from among them."

Intelligence " which," says the Army and Nary
Ga:eite, " may be regarded OA authentic, has been received
in London, to the effect that the Emperor of the French
has decided upon adding ten more iron-cased steem.ships to
his navy."

The iron-cased ships recently ordered from
Yoram. Mare, Laird, and the Thames Shipimilding Com•
psay, are to be named respectively the Northumberland,
the Captain, and the Elephant.

The Grand Duke Constantine of Rueaia, who is
on his way from the Crimea to England, "to complete hit
studies on the British Navy," is expected at Berlin, having
pasted near Vienna without paying a visit to that city, or
presenting bit respects to the Court of Austria.

The Italian opera at Madrid is this whiter to be
headed by Mesdames de La Grano and Julienne Dejean.
with M. Carrion for principal tenor, and Sigoor Giraldoni.
baritone ; not one of the above is Italian by birth.

The energetic council of the Royal Dramatic
College (says the Sunday Time.) have now determined at
once to proceed with the erection of their magnificent hall.
Repent states that a design of surpassing beauty and taste
has been decided upon by them, and the work is to be put
up to tender without delay.

. .
Mr. Edwin Booth, who makes his first appear-
ance at the Haymarket Theatre on 31 °ado, Bept. 30, is the
sou of the mos celebrated Justus Brutus Booth, formerly et
Covent-garden and Drury-laps Theatres, and who war can-
temporary with the elder Haan.

Mr. G. V. Brooke has been engaged by Mr.
Harris, of the Theatre Royal, Dublin, for a limited number
of nights, and will make his first appearance in his native
city since his return from Australia, after an absence of
seven yearn, ou Monday, October 7. He commences at
Drury-lane Theatre on the 28th of October.

The Adelphi opens on Monday with the unibing
and undrownable Colleen Barn, but Mr. Boucle wit's text
best end, The Oetomon, with its slave sale sod Yukon
"sensation" bite, is in rehearsal.

The Princess's Theatre is announced to open on
Saturday nest, when the new comedy by Mr. John Brougham,
called Playing aria Fire, will be the inaugurating novelty.
The author is included in the out, and Mr. George Jordan,
from the American theatres, will also make in it his first
appearance in England.

Blondin is engaged to exhibit at Southampton

ou Xonday.

The great single-wicket cricket match between
Carpenter and ilaywerd and three Northern pl►yers takes
place at She/held on Thursday, and the Cambridge pair
have the call in the betting.

It is said that the price of the Australian

cricket trip to its projector will be about 7,0001.

Harry Sebright; sou of the late inn Sebright,
has been appointed huntsman to Colonel Lutistsll, is
Someraittehire, vice old Will Bozall, who now retiree.

MIL ROBSON AT HIRNII BAT.-A great treat was
afforded the viadon and residents at Herne Bay on Tues.
day last. There is a dramatic society established at this
favourite waterier/1)1am, and they have erected a pretty
little theatre, capable of seating about four hundied per-
sons. Mr. Robson being in the neighbourhood, and taking
an interest in their exertions, kindly offered his senior*,
mad accordingly Herne Bay Hall, as the theatre is
termed, wee crowded on that evening to excess. la
The Porter's Snot Mr. F. Robson not only performed
his famous part of Samson Burr, to the great
delight of the auditory, but he was assisted on this OCCs.
don by his son, Mr. F. Hobson, jun., who made his first
appearance on any stage, as Mr. Smoothly Smirk, and
pee great promise of future excellence as an actor. should
be choose his father's profession. Both were eethusiartp
ally applauded, sad the piece altogether was a triumphant
success. Betimes The Porter'. Snot and The Boots al Ma
Swam, in which, as Jacob Earwig, he kept the spectators in
the most excited date of mirth, Mr. Hebron sang his air
bested "Country Fair," and left an inipremiou on his
hearers which will not be easily forgotten.—Ern.