The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-31 00:00:00

WIIITECHAPEL.

Tho supply of meat on sale is moderate, and the trade
rules heavy, at the alaucsed quotations :---
Beet; from 2s 10d to 4s 4d; mutton, 3s 81 to 4s 8d;
veal, 3s 6d to 4s 8d; and pork, 3s 4d to 4s 41 per Sibs by
the carcase.

GENERAL STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY.—TLe
seventy-ninth half-yearly meeting of the share-
holders in this company was held yesterday, at their offices,
71, Lornbard.street, John Wilkin, Esq., in the chair. The
report of the directors, and a statement of the accounts for
the half-year to the 30th June last, were read to the meet-
ing and unanimously adopted. The customary dividend of
14s per share, being at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum
was declared, and the cordial thanks of the proprietor. were
voted to the chairman and directors for their continual ex-
ertions in the management ,of the company's affairs, after
which the meeting separated.
THE " INSPECTION" AT DEPOT.—The barracks
were on a hill commanding the town, which had
been fashioned irresolutely into a sort of fort—and when the
KM was shining, little lengths of scarlet ribbon were seen
to unwind themselves on the walls, like a cheerful edging
to a dull grey surtout, attended also by lively drumming,
and the winding of trumpets. In this sort of clumsily dis-
guised reformatory, the soldiers took their punishment,
were drilled, snapped at with words of command, and,
above all, " inspected." Which dreadful operation war
now just being performed. It was a depot, and samples of
several regiments were herded together for training and exer-
cise. Major-General Shortall had been down, a gaunt, red-
oheeked man, with what used to be termed the mutton-chop
whisker, and who was determined to do his all to save the
service from the destruction to which it was hurrying—by
keeping his upper lip clean and bare. The men had been
scrubbed, pipeclayed, French polished, burnished, holy.
stoned even ; had been reviled and sworn into perfect
cleanliness, before General Shortall was taken down the
ranks. With a scowl of distrust, as though each private
was busy hiding some breakage or stain, and might, after
all, skilfully evade detection of his crime, the general
walked down by a row of chests and faces, pried into but
tons, twitched open cartouche-boxes, and pulled at straps
sourly, then walked up a row of backs, poked, probed as it
he were making a surgical examination, and finished off a
line with an air of disappointment. Colonels and captains
walked with him in agitation. In the evening General
Shortall was to dine with the mess; so also, was Sir
Charles Longman, the gencrio territorial person of quality,
and one or two gentlemen. It was a sort of little festival.
The general, in a grudging sort of fashion, had alloweo
some commendation to be wrung from him, in which the
words " efficient" and "soldier-like" were distinguishable.
So there was a weight of care off the minds of the superior j
officers, Like two kings at a conference, Sir Charles Long.
man and General Shortall met on the rug, as at a free
town.. Colonel Benbow presented them to each other. The
general said ho had known a Longman in "my old regi-
ment" in Jamaica, and Sir Charles, promptly fixing his
glass in position, and painfully investigating the general all
over, said, doubtfully, " that he—er—didn't know." They
went into dinner then, in a sort of clanking procession.—
"Never Forgottm," in Charles i.l.lickeos's the Year

&owl."