The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-24 00:00:00

z- -
, - - -
/
Z f- - - Z- -- - -r_ .--e - - -‹
. -
(

«;~

THE CAMP AT ALDERSHOTT:

• -
(From the Times of this day.)
Of the various proceedings now in contemplation for im-
proving the efficiency of our land forces, and augmenting the
military power of the country, there is none to which greater
importance should be attached than to the project of the new
' establishment at Aldershott. This scheme, if carried out ac-
cording to design, will go far beyond the encampment at
Chobham. That represented simply a military parade on a
large and novel scale, which contributed something, indee4„,
to the instruction of the troops actually engaged, but which
left few durable traces in the constitution or organisation of
the British army. The soldiers went to Chobham, _ ro-
nsained there a few weeks, and then returned to their
former habits and quarters, thn whole spectacle disappearing
from the face of the country before the close of the autumn'
But the easeful be very different in the experiment now con-
ceived, which marks the institution of an entirely new system.
For the future it is intended to collect our troops as much as
possible in large barracks, so as to dispense with ,the use of
isolated quarters, to preclude the necessity of billeting, and
to provide both officers and men with the means of studying
th© practical duties of their
profession on something more
than a regimental scale. With these views 175,000!. *have
been assigned to the erection of lints sufficient to accommo-
date 50,000 men, which huts, thongh professedly of a tempo-
rary character, are to be substantial enough to serve for
some years. Of these buildings, as many as will contain
20,000 men are to be raised at Aldersbott, at which spot also
permanent barracks are to be constructed, at a cost of no less
than 250,0001. Altogether, therefore, upwards of 300,000/.
will ha expended at Aidenhott in military lodgings,
and, as 20,000 Militia will go into the huts,, while
the barracks, when completed, will -be occupied
by 10,000 regulars of all. arms, infantry, cavalry,
and artillery, we may have some 30,000 troops massed
together for a considerable period, and 10,00) stationed there
permarrutlT. The result will give not merely a temporary
camp, like that at Chobham, but a regular establishment—a
station representing the consolidation of ten or twenty dif-
ferent barracks, and embodying a new system of military
training,

It is understood that this establishment is likely to be
framed to some extent upon the model of that at Beverloo,
and such a resolution would be very reasonable, inasmuch as
this Belgian camp embodies more closely than any other esta-
blishment the designs which we have in contemplation. In
other Continental states where there are large garrisons and
fortresses the practice is to call out numerous bodies of
troops—perhaps, 50,000 or 60,000 men at a time--
for exercise and. manoeuvres at certain seasons of
the year, but : this system would evidently: not be
adapted to our own resources or requirements. Our
object is to communicate to a comparatively small army a
high degree of organisation, by exercising simultaneously
such divisions of it as are likely to be available for such duty,
and in this respect the model of the Belgian barracks might
answer our views. Beverloo is situated in the province of
Limburg, not far from Hasselt, in the middle of which sandy
and desolate-looking country a permanent camp has been
formed for the accommodation and instruction of some 15,000
men. The buildings there erected comprise both barracks
and huts, are complete in all their arrangements, and form,
we believe, the only establishment of the kind in Europe—
something between a regular garrison and a temporal", en-
campment. The design of the Belgian Government seems
to have been to give the soldiers of their army, who are
mostly young, and enlisted for a limited term of service,
the means of acquiring good military training on a large
scale, and) to habituate them,
in a permanent school
of instruction, to those concerted manoeuvres of field
duty which convey an idea of actual, service. It is
obvious that from buildings actually erected and arrangements
devised for this purpose there may be very much for us to
learn.

It is on the discipline, however, and practices observed in
the new camp, that so much will be found to turn. Mien
suitable plans have been obtained, the erection of the neces-
sary buildings will be a work of very little trouble, though,
perhaps, we may gain in more respects than one by enlisting
the talents of civil engineers in the construction of our mili-
tary edifices. But results of the greatest importance will at.
tach to that system of instruction adopted. We presume that
Aldershott has not been selected without reference to its natu-
ral advantages, as offering good ground for manceuvres,—
such ground, in short, as would enable all the various arms
of the service to be handled with effect. We haPpen just
now to have only too complete an idea of the qualities in
which our soldiers are apt to be found deficient. The princi-
pal requisites of military excellence they possess in an eminent
degree. They are valiant, enduring, patient, and steady be-
yond example, but they have never been taught to provide
dexterously for their personal wants under circumstances of
difficulty, or to perform those minor duties of outposts, &c.,
which the presence of an enemy creates. In addition to this,
the regiments have never been sufficiently accustomed to act
in concert, and, as the several corps were never, except for a
few weeks at Chobham, fused into any semblance of an army,
' it followed almost inevitably that the auxiliary departments
of the service had no experience of what an army requires.
In this respect even Chobham was not turned to so much
advantage as it might have been, and it is in the hope that
the omission will be rectified at Aldershott that we have
called public attention to the subject.
The general principles which should regulate our proceedings
are, we think, tolerably clear. Of course, the ontinary drill
should not be neglected ; but it is not in this respect that
our troops have ever' been found deficient. What is required
is, that the men should be accustomed to more sustained and
'varied bodily exercise, so as to develop° their muscular ener-
gies; that demands should be made on their individual in-
telligence, so as to give them greater self-reliance and more
resources in difficulty ; and that they should be taught all the
expedients of cooking, melding, patching, and hutting,
which may stand them in good stead another day.
Perhaps it may be thought that if we thus train
our troops to depend upon themselves, instead of looking to
the Commissariat for everything, .we can scarcely be taking ,
the best course to make the Commissariat itself more effi-
cient; but this dilemma is more apparent than real. We
do not prOpose that the soldiers should be taught to go out
and buy flour, or bring in cattle, or that the Commissariat
should be relieved from the duty of collecting supplies. We -
simply think that it will be for the advantage of the troops
if they are trained to provide their own meals instead of re- '
ceiving them ready for their mouths, while the practice
which we anticipate for the Commissariat is exactly
that which the occasion itself cannot fail to fur-
nish. If twenty, thousand or thirty thousand men are col-
lected together th ,re must necessarily to work for the
officers whose duty it is to see that such a force is supplied
with provisions, and it is, no doubt, in a-great measure be-
cause such experience was not obtainable before that the-de-
partments of the army which should minister to the efficiency
of the fighting. men were found deficient in organisation and
vigour. We want, in short, some such practice as shall place
before all branches of the profession the incidents of ac.ual
service and the exigencies of a considerable army. The estab-
lishment at Aldcrshott will give us the opportunities desired,
and we hope they may be turned to good effect in the case
both of the Militia and the Line. .

REPRESENTATION OF LIVERPOOL.—The writ arrived
yesterday in Liverpool. The nomination will take place
on Tuesday, and the polling on Wednesday. Sir S. G.
Bonham, whn offers himself on Tory principles, has at-
tended a meeting of the electors. He commenced by
stating that he had had experience in mercantile pursuits,
and expressed a hope that he should be able to render
service to the town. The candidate then avowed him-
self to be a follower of Lord Derby, and said his prin-
ciples were strictly Conservative. After giving an opi-
nion that the present Emperor of Russia was likely to
follow out the policy of his father, the speaker expressed
his belief that if Lord Derby had been in power there
would not have been any war. He added that he re-
goretotned
with
hd ditetes
rathertd that waL,v be a hollowutnowhe preferredtru Sir
tior
Samuel then touched upon some local topics. Hi 9
address was frequently interrupted by laughterand noise.
In reply to a question as to whether he would vote for
the restoration of Poland, Sir S. G. Bonham said that
the restoration of Poland did not depend .on England
alone ; it dep3nded on a great many other countries.
(Hear, hear.) It would depend very much on the result
of the present war, and until they knew what that result
was it was impossible to tell what could be done. He
could give no other answer. It must depend on cir-
cumstances which had not yet arisen. A resolution was
then passed, to the effect that Sir S. G. Bonham was a
fit and propEr person to reprgent the borough, and
pledging the meeting to use every legal means to secure
his election. A large meeting of Liberal electors wall
held at the Theatre Royal last night, at which measures
were taken to secure, if possible, the return of Mr. J.
C. Ewart.

IMPORTANT TO CONSIGNEES.---LIVERPOOL, March 23.
—A. few days ago the ship Royal Victoria, Wintering-
ham master, arrived at this port from Charleston with
a cargo of cotton consigned to Mr. James Beazley, of
13, Red Cross-street. The bill ef lading, presented by
a broker in the town, who had received-it from the ship- '
per indirectly, represented the cargo to consist .of 121
bales ; but it was noticed that the words " one hundred
and" appeared to be in a different Inindihiting • and,
on reference to the master's copy, it was ascertained
that they had been introduced after he had signed
and delivered it to the shipper, "C. Nichols," of
Charleston, and that in reality the cargo consisted only
of 31 bales. It was then elicited that Nichols Lad
himself prepared the bill, leaving ample margin
on the document for the insertion of additional words ;
and it is believed that, after the sailing of the vessel, he
would obtain an advance upon the document from some
banking or mercantile house. From inquiries since in
stituted it has been farther ascertained that tbabliii of
lading for the cargoes of other cotton ships which left
Charleston for Liverpool about the same time have been
similarly altered. The Lalla Rookb, for instance, con-
signed
to Messrs. Fraser, Frenholm, and Co., and the
Sarah Ann, consigned to Messrs. J. S. le Wolfe and
Co. had 300 bales each less on board than the quantity
stated in the bill of lading, and on reference to the mas-
ter's copies it was found that the additional numbers and
words had been introduced, as in the case first alluded
mosfeean
cotton
otthoine
to. Steps have been taken to secure the apprehension of
on Mr.
sNafieety. Nichols,
Nifitchhaotlepwerassonfohnnas
formerly
r not
ere
astneorw
ship himself, but had for some time pastoccupied the
position
position of broker in Charleston.
NOTTINGHAM TRADE._Iu lace businges, although wecannot say that any improvement has ooeurred in the
state of the demand, spinners and holders of material
tell us that there has this
week been an increased demand
for these, and consequently a movement-1"d have en-
sued in our long stagnant manufacturing activity. This
is, however, accounted for rather from the anxiety of our
manufacturers to coax the market with something in the
shape of novelty, which may obtain a start along with
the spring fashions. Still the real mainsprings of busi-
ness are inactive, and our leading merchants are waiting
the turn ef affairs, in expectation of the usual seasonable
operations—
to which the weather has certainly not
hitherto proved propitious. The lace trade, it will be seen,
if fully represented ; and when it is represented that our
cheap and beautiful machine-made laces, which have
hitherto been contraband in France, will thus be ad-
mitted extensively, end as the leading and characteristic
feature of this class of British products, for the first time
at 20 per cent. duty, we do nbt doubt, and our merchants
do not seem to doubt, that the result must be of im-
portance to this country, and may probably open_ up to
us a new market. They feel convinced that even' at 25
per cent. duty, they could successfully compete with the
laces of Cambray and Calais, and sell in -France a far
cheaper and better article of the same class of British
produce. Some of the job sales that have recently been
forced on the London market, for instance, are of French
goods, and these have generally been taken at a price
equivalent to that of some of our bobbin-net goods
though only such as are ;produced by the warp-machine
—Nottinglifintaira quardiatt.
_ _