The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-02 00:00:00

NO. 22,445.

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, J UNE 2, 1864.

NEW NOVEL ay THE AUTHOR OF " ST. OLAVE'S."
Now ready, at all the Libraries, in 3 vols.,
JANIT A'S COS S.
By the Author of " St. Olave's."
" There is real cleverness in • Janita's Cross.' The charac-
ters are distinctive and life-like."—Saturday Review.
"`Janata'® Cross' is in all respects equal to ` St. Olave's.' "
—Post.

RIUH FON and BACK for 3i. every SUNDAY
--f-AP and MONDAY, from London-bridge, 'Victoria, and
Kensington, at 9.0 a.m. The Excursion Season commences
on Sunday, the sth June.

Royal United Service Institution.

A paper was read at this institution on Monday
evening, by Captain E. A. Inglefield, R.N., on a
proposed plan of his invention for working the
heaviest ordnance on board armour-plated ships, and
in fortifications, with Complete protection for the
men. Large models of the section of a ship and of
a fortification were exhibited to illustrate this mode
of working large guns, which on board chip con-
sisted of loading the guns between decks and then
raising them to the upper deck to be fired. The
power required for raising the guns Captain Ingle-
field ingeniously proposes to obtain from the weight
of the ship and its displacement of the water, the
upward pressure of water at the bottom being ap-
plied as the moving power. lie proposes to place
the guns on a platform in the middle of the ship, so
adjusted as to be capable of being raised perpendi-
cularly, with counterbalances to di.ninish the weight.
The platform is to be sePported on five rods fixed
to pistons that work in cylinders placed vertically
at the bottom. When the guns are to be raised to
the upper deck water is to be admitted through
apertures at the bottom of the ship into
the cylinders, and the upward pressure of
the water will be sufficient to lift the gun; the
water, when it has done its work, being allowed to
flow into tanks to be used on the engine boi ere.
In a ship that draws 20 feet of water Captain Ingle-
field estimates that there will be a lifting force of
9 lb. to the square inch. The gun would be pointed
under direction of its captain, stationed in the
middle deck, looking through a telescope, and the
only time that the man would be exposed would be
whilst pointing and firing the gun. When it was
lowered iron shutters on the upper deck would be
closed over to protect the men from the perpendi-
cular fire of shells.
At the conclusion of the paper n gentlemen put
forward the claims of a Mr. Matthews to a similar
invention, and a long diseureivediscussion took place
on the merits of Captain Ing'efield'e plan, in which
Sir Frederick Nicolson, Captain Selwyn, Captain
Scott, and other gentlemen took part. Whilst ad-
mitting the ingenuity of the invention, they all
and ern-
treanisdeedd othbjacteittiownsoutloditnootf lovearai'v)uasilakbiluedsin, warfare.
Objections were also made to the Eat( rpt iae, which
had been highly praised by Captain Inglefield in the
course of his paper, and it was contended that as
that ship had only accomplished 10 knots an hour
it was practically a failure, and that the problem
yet remained to be solved of constructing a compa-
ratively small armour-plated ship, heavily armed,
that would attain such a speed as the Warrior.
Admiral Sartorius, who was in the chair, objected
to Captainlnglefield'e plan on account of the time it
would occupy to raise and lower the guns. Rapidity
of fire during a naval action was, he said, most im-
portant, and he attributed the victory of Trafalgar
principally to the rapidity with which the English
loaded and fired their guns. He said that during
that action there were 360 of the enemy killed or
wounded in the ship opposed to his own within 35
minutes, whilst on board of his ship there were not
more than 80 or 90 killed or wounded. In close
action, therefore, Captain Inglefield's plan would
be objectionable, and in distant firing the protec-
tion it would afford woe signify little. Captain
Inglefield replied to the objections that had been
made to his plan, without touching however on
those raised by Admiral Sartorius. The meeting

A S TING S and BACK for 3i. 6d. every.
-2,-11- SUNDAY, commencing on sth June, from London-
bridge and Victoria, at 8.5 a.m. These trains call at St.
Leonards, Eastbourne, Polegate, and Lewes.

As was to be expected in a case like this, men of all
classes come forward, and, of course, all sorts of ideas were
brought to the surface—some feasible, others absurd. Of
the former, many were characterised by an endeavour to
attain resistance at the expense of the backing, the plate
alone being looked upon as the element of impenetrability.
Many of our most eminent engineers adhered to this plan,
forgetting, strangely enough, the mechanical principles
which cause the blacksmith to give the anvil an elastic
foundation of wool in solid blocks—which enable the cob-
bler to hammer leather on his knees, by using a thick and
heavy stone as a cushion—and permit railroads successfully
to bear enormoes weights. Now, on referring to Sir Howard
Douglas's work on Naval Gunnery, we find that a plate of
iron, Eft square and Bin thick, standing in an inclined posi-
tion against a wall, was broken up by twelve 681 b shots,
fired with the ordinary charge, at an average distance of
500 yards. We likewise know that the 41-inch plate of the
vertical Warrior tai get will bear any amount of such pound-
ing. In the first instance, irrespectively of the favourable
inclination, the resistance is as 64 ; while in the second,
exclusive of the backing, it is as 2025. Surely, then, it
could not require much ability to see at once that the back-
ing was endowed with a latent force, which came out on
impact, and contributed most usefully to the resistance of
the plate. This force, which might be called reactive force,
is due to the elasticity of the backing, coupled with suffi-
cient rigidity. It supports the inert matter of the plate,
enlivens its resistance, spreads the concussion over a sur-
face which increases with depth, and, lastly, it acts directly
against the projectile, to the prejudice of its penetration.
With all this, the Admiralty countenanced many plans
which, though backed by great names, were sadly deficient
in the very elements of this valuable force, and of course
the penalty had to be paid, in the shape of repeated de-
feats ; whence they eagerly declared that there was nothing
better than their first child, the original 41-inch armour.
The Minotaur target was a kind of compromise between
some of the anti-backing plans and the Warrior, being a
thicker plate (51in), with only 9in of wood behind ; yet,
notwithstanding such extra thickness, it was pierced and
literally destroyed by 7501bs of metal thrown ; while
the Warrior stood 4,0001bs comparatively well —at
least, its skin was not broken: There is nothing won-
derful in this ; the more you diminish your reactive
force, the more you facilitate penetration. For instance,
in the Warrior, the resistance of the iron being as 2025,
that of its 18-inch backing as 324, the total of the reactive
force might be represented by the area 20.25 X 324 eee- 6,561;
while in the Minotaur the resistance of the iron was 30 25,
that of the 9-inch backing ss 81, giving an area as 2,450 ;
wherefore, when the 300-pounder, fired with s,ilbs of
powder, sent its cast-iron round shot into the former, leav•
ing five inches of timber and the skin unbroken, it could
easily be foreseen the same gun fired under similar condi-
tions would sweep "clean through the Minotaur target,
carrying plate, backing, skin, frame, and all before it,"
The 11-inch plates tried without backing were broken
through at the first round of the 300-pounder, though the
iron resistance was as 121, six times greater than that of
the Warrior; but there was no reactive force, so the shot
only encountered inert matter of great tenacity. With a
little care, how easy it would be to save the country of a
vast amount of wanton expenditure I
Other plans, on the contrary, laid great stress on the part
played by the backing; in fact, they took a line diametri-
cally oppposite to that followed by the former, their origi-
nators having evidently understood the lesson conveyed by
the comparative superiority of the Warrior with regard to
a system based on the use of thicker plates and thinner
backing. They may not have seen what constituted the
secret of impenetrability, but it was apparent to them that,
by :improving the rigidity, and at the same time the
elasticity of the backing, they would increase the resistance
to compression, and proportionately diminish the plate's
tendency to buckle and give way before the shot. One
would have thought these principles plausable enough to
merit fair consideration, or novel enough to excite
official curiosity. Such, however, was not the case in
any way ; the Admiralty being either unable to
appreciate the scientific features, or determined never to
depart from their own favourite ideas, right or wrong, Be
this as it may, we find that amongst the persons who sided
with the backing a certain Mr. Chalmers distinguished him-
self especially for his perseverance in bringing the question
into notice, and at the same time for his faith in the prac•
tical success. Early in 1862 he became convinced that ar-
mour needed three essential conditions, viz., more support
behind the plate, an elastic medium to check the vibration,
and fastening bolts better proportioned. In the first and
third conditions we fully concur. We likewise cancur in
the second—but not as to the purpose it is intended to fulfil.
In August, 1562, ho submitted his plans to the. Admiralty;
they, of course;, refusing to give them a trial. Upon
he proposed (September 22) to furnish a target at his own
expense—the conditions being that in case of failure it
should remain his property, whereas in case of success
further trials were to be made, preparatory to the general
introduction of the system, in the armour-plating of new
iron-clads. On the 15th October their lordships refused
over again, characteristically referring Mr. Chalmers to
their "former answer on the subject of his proposal to con-
struct a target;" but there had been no " former answer"
to the proposal based on the risk of the projector. So Mr.
Chalmers immediately reiterated his offer, reserving to him-
self the right of reimbursement up to £1,650, on condition
that, first, his plates should neither buckle nor be pene-
trated, on being tested in the same way as the Warrior ;
secondly, the armour should afford protection to the skin
against the Whitwor h projectiles, which had succeeded in
penetrating the Warrior; thirdly, plates 31 inches thick
should afford better protection than 4z-inch plates backed
by wood only. Failing in these conditions, ho claimed the
right of removing his target ; succeeding, he left himself en

hen adjourned to the 6th of June, which will be

he lust of the season.

The Chalmers Target,

esdnuatry
voice,
, omiocfae
,c
macs
ahsaett
hSs
cep
aa
best
eiasssht b
means
enr
amn tt lafo, r theke keeping
p vitali acknowledged,n
wiimportanceEvertut saindciolf, toohnuet ri
fiwlp
tel
haei
estt i: e ;
our shores inviolate, protecting our commerce abroad, and
upholding our political interests in various parts of the
world. In accordance with this feeling, our statesmen have
unfailingly taken good care that the fleets of England should
never run the danger of being overmatched, though it but
surpass ours in their &ageing
too frequently happened that they allowed foreign ships to
this watchfulness, however, the p
their design, and the power of their armainpnt. With all
greatr
im ea
1.1
nqwduaaar iietiennincetstl
fundamental
naval
nvii,h,t :oh,
afefuiiuhrtrrstoitrt yisttieeopst
rsouwccaereddsemd,odduifr3ininggththeaCt
secu-
rity and power, by the introduction platedarmoausrs float-
ing batteries impervious to shot; for it must be obvious to
every one that, by neutralising
sea, they at once deprived
to our .
of these armoured vessels against.
burn led to this plan being
frigates, which scheme
way, that the originators of L*
to the glory of having inaugurated our means of destruction at
us of all the advantages inherent
the Russian forts at Kin•
The success that attended the first trial
i, Improved and extended to large
carried out in so practical a
LA Gloire may well lay claim
eurated qaite a new era in the
comparison of navies and the relative position of maritime
Powers. Defensive as well
to quantity, in the shape
sized smooth bores, but after
could no longer be calculated s offensive capabilities at sea
of alter the ratio they had borne
that
ten.qer ships and moderate
iat of iron clads and heavy
rifled cannon. It followed
y usePful ati°nofa
that the arm of which, in a
Were hands, not through the adverse
national point of view, We had
difficult.
was slipping fast out of our h the most peremptory need,
the very midst of peace
fato of battles—for we
—but through the simple, noiselessl 4
a p.
.. IPtoromptly pushing forward
plan which had
and the resolution of agency of ingenuity,
times and feasible.when
concealment Fortunately,
and
pthroe
odwi aot theao
rrpoorua
living
l i n
The success of the first iron
clad, and the extent to which
besimilar frigates were ordered
in the French navy, seen
however,secrvieemsdym are extremely
was came known ; and then, we
must admit, the danger
uatialidsoenvewryithpotshsei ble
traditionaldesP En
'
energeticallythe
e dealt with, no
time being lest in adopting
apdrionciple of armour-
atnchew to create an iron
policy of Great Britain.
armour-
plating,
that this eau:oWe was promptly followed else-
in the reconstruction of their pushingfleetsareatpresent engaged
on the new
system to the utmost of their abilities ;
in fact, most naval powers s
yet, With the im-
menseean command, if wisely
used, there can be no reason to fear that we shall eve
suc-
cumb in this extraordinary race, or come out of it in arposi-
tion inferior to the one we have been wont to hold. resources our Government
At the time that this new invention was adopted, little
was known about the best conditions for ensuring
principally with regard to the object it had in view, via.,
impenetrability. It was believed that a plain slab of iron,
4i inches thick, well backed up by layers of timber, consti-
tuted a sufficiently powerful armour to resist cannon-shot
of the largest calibre, moving with the highest velocities.
This belief was not the result of a long series of experiments
undertaken for the express purpose of determining what our
artillery could do against armour, and vice t'ersa, what ar-
mour was needed to set gunnery at defiance ; but it sprang
mainly from the impression that the thickness adopted in
France for the plating of their type ship was
amply
sufa.
cient, because the targets tried at Vincennes did prove
satisfactory when the iron WAS of good texture and eleven
centimetres thick (equal to about four and
one-third
inches), though they had no iron frame-work
to enP
port the bucking. Considering that the French me:
thod was essentially unscientific, certainly, with an eye
to future contingencies, some effort might have been made
towards ascertaining by what dispositions the resistance
could be increased without adding weight ; however, if w
boar in mind that the circumstance admitted of no delay,
and that our authorities were nearly in the same position as
when they ordered a hundred 100-pounders before having
had even one tried, we may be satisfied with the armour-
plating adopted for the Warrior, because in a relative point
of view its primitive style was superior to the equally pri-
mitive plan then carried out in the French navy. But it
soon became apparent that naval artillery was on the eve
of some radical alteration in its condition of penetration and
momentum, by the adoption of larger calibres, heavier
charges, and more suitable metal; and from that moment
every one could see that the question of armour-plating had
entered on an entirely now phase. Enough had been
known of it to appreciate the value of such protection, and
save it from being abandoned as useless, it it could but be
endowed with resistance in an absolute sense—if we may so
express ourselves, in view of the ;rem-nee difference between
old and new gunnery—always within moderate limits
of
thickness and of weight. A problem of this nature could
not fail, as a general rule, to abeorb tLo attention of engi-
neers, and promote emulation amongst them ; but in the
present case it has the exceptional qualification of exciting
an intense feeling of interest in the public at large, of hold-
ing out unusual promises, and lastly of opening a great field
to ambition. Never perhaps have the registers of the
Patent Office been called upon to record a greater number
of inventions in so short a space of time on one particular
object. A single hope had sufficed to instantly turn the
minds of many hundreds of 111011 towards a career which
begins by exacting heavy payments for the grant of a natural
right, at present stigmatised as a monopoly; which opens
the way to ruinous lawsuits, caused by the grant being

tirely in the hands of their lordships with regard to compen-
sation. Two days later, the Admiralty were pleased to sig-
nify their adhesion to this proposal, declaring beforehand
their intention not to enter into engagements " asto future
remuneration, or costs ;" and there is every reason to be-

lieve that this answer satisfied Mr. Chalmers in spite of its
vagueness ; for the target was at once commenced by the
Millwall Iron Company, the work being completed suffi-
ciently in time for the first trial to come off on the 27th of
April last year.

On examining the system one could see that the outer
armour-plate was 31 inches thick; that the first backing
was composed of alternate layers of wood and iron about
11 inches deep, the iron ribs being equivalent to about an
additional thickness of nearly half an inch to the plate;
that this backing was supported by an inner armour plate,
1 inch thick, resting against a cushion or second backing
from 3 to 4 inches deep; the whole being firmly bolted to a
frame representing the side of an iron ship, The target
weighed as much as the Warrior per square foot. The pro-
gramme consisted of 27 rounds, of which 8 were from the
68 pounders-4 solid shot and 4 shell—with 16 lbs of
powder ; and 9 were from the 110 pounder .Armstrong
(12 solid, 6 shells, and one steel fiat-ended)—the charges
being respectively 141 b, 121 b, and 101 b. Without going
into the various details of the firing, we may at once say
that the result was far more satisfactory than in the case of
the Warrior, thanks undoubtedly to the greater amount of
reactive force located in the cushion, and the peculiar con-
struction of the cellular backing. Great hopes were im-
mediately founded on this good achievement; but they
eventually made way to bitter disappointments, despite
words uttered in the House of Commons, and which seemed
to be an acknowledgment full of promise for Mr Chalmers,
as well as for the friends whe had so heartily given him
their support. On the 4th of May two more rounds were
fired at this target from the 10.5-inch shunt Armstrong,
with spherical cast-iron shot, and 510bs. of powder, result-
ing
in two belts and a few rivets broken, one of the ship's
ribs being bulged inwards a few inches; still, the inner li
plate was not pierced. Unfortunately, however, Mr.
Chalmers consented to the firing of a 3001 b. steel shot, with
no less than 451bs, of powder : it effected complete penetra-
tion, and thus he himself enabled his adversaries to turn
the result against his own work; not with much good
faith, we grant—for we have yet to learn where the Admi-
ralty has the target able to stand such a shot at 200 yards,
especially after 29 rounds—but nevertheless with that
superficial show of reason, which was wanted for waging
war on bad grounds.
Contrary to their expectations, the Admiralty had been
taught a valuable lesson. They had been forcibly shown, not
by deep science, but by plain practical results due to sound
instinct, that. backing has more to do with resistance than
they had imagined ; wherefore, according to the usual rules
followed between masters and pupils, one would have ex-
pected them ready to acknowledge the service done. But
official institutions cannot adapt themselves to vulgar
usage, so it was decided to pay for the tangible outlay—
that is. for the target furnished by the Milwall works—and
not to reimburse the master the small amount due for per-
sonal expenses and for time expended during the manutac-
ture of the target. Moreover, acting after the same pro-
pensities which tempted them to build the slow Orontes as
an improvement on the swift Himalaya, they determined to
try another target on their own favoured plan, embodying
a shadow of the principles which had succeeded in the
Chalmers ; and again they had the deep mortification to
witness its failure, in the presence of a large assem-
blage, the first round of the 10'5-inch gun send-
ing the whole concern to ruin. A succession of
disasters was a matter not to be tolerated, for the sake of
official fame; so one more effort was made to secure at least
a semblance of triumph in another target called the Belle-
rophon, by adhering as closely as possible to the moat
essential features of the Chalmers : in fact the backing con-
sisted of alternate layers of wood and iron supporting 6-inch

X

~ , • ' I
-.AI ,•4N, 4.)' '..."1.-3,-- ,
.---......... i , ~,. ....-
47 ,
/ e
.„... ...- ...A., -.1. ..!--
v,. . , , ~
4 ..
~..„ . ,
„*. jtjtv,,.
-. ,t 1,,, sq-
,< .'). Aipte .4-r-,--. ,
(0, %II L-1t.)jk......,e, % --"*\ .d1i41,4;$ ,
16, ~. '
..
q .
' '' 'a.,
-P:Zo ..4
F'&;1;•-iii 2' 1.,-,re_f____ `, ir.:VC,.
, ...
- DiE ',.
.)1/4•00t,„.,,
14,
,60 ,„„ve ,DRor,.
;-

honestly sold over again any number of times, and by the
fearful price attached to human justice; and which, lastly,
serves but too frequently to enrich unprincipled capitalists,
because they alone have the wcrldly gifts and the precious
element which Providence hardly ever grants to the genuine
inventor.

PRICE ..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

plates and resting against a frame having two skins, the
space between them being filled up with elastio material.
This target was fired at 12 times, with about one-third the
weight of iron thrust against the Chalmers, the heaviest
projectile being a 3001 b. cast-iron, and net steel, shot, and
the heaviest charge being 35 instead of 501bs.
With the view of dealing a last blow to the Chalmers, it
was ordered to be taken down ; but of late the Iron-plate
Committee had it set up again for the purpose of trying it,
' under conditions of equality with regard to the 300-pounder,
when fired with only 351bs. of powder, as was done on the
Bellerophon day. The result of the special experiments was
briefly alluded to in cur notice of the Shoeburyness compe-
titive trials. The shot was spherical east it on ; the charges
351bs. of powder; the distance 200 yards. The deepest in-
dent was five inches; the structure remained firm, although
it had already received 30 shots; and the bolts had been
put on again without their thick india-rubber washers.
Such is, in a few words, the history of armour in general,
and of the Chalmers target in particular.-- Telegraph.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The following circular memorandum, addressed
to the army at home and recruiting districts, has
been promulgated :
" With a view to meet the possible lose to the
service of a certain number of men who are about to
complete their first period of limited enlistment, and
in order generally to encourage the recruiting of the
army, his Royal Highness the Field Marshal Com-
manding-in-Chief desires the special attention of
the field officers of recruiting districts to the orders
annifentorittida—which have from time to time been
issued, and calls on them, and all under their super.
intendence, for increased exertion to maintain the
establishment. It will be their duty to give their
constant attention to the numbers raised weekly by
each party under their orders, and when the result in
any case may be inadequate, to propose sileh changes
in their distribution as may increase their chances of
success; and in any instance in which after such
change the party may still fail to send in recruits, it
should be returned to its regiment and replaced by
another. If after all exertion has been made the sta-
tion continue unproductive, it should be altogether
abandoned, and the party sent to a different locality.
Officers of subdivisions should see that the parties
are active and energetic, not remaining shut up in
their billets, but constantly on the alert, attending
all markets, fairs, and wakes in the places where
they are quartered. Superintending officers are
permitted by the last paragraph of the general
order of December 1, 1847, to give special authority
for detaching parties for the above purposes to ad-
joining towns and villages within moderate dis-
tances, and should it in any case be deemed desir-
able to send men for similar reasons to such dis-
tances as would entail the necessity of issuing
marching money to them, his Royal Highness, on
the application of inspecting field-officers, made in
sufficient time beforehand, would be prepared to
recommend the sums to the War-office. Inspecting
field-officers should obtain and furnish to recruiting
parties lists of the days on which markets and fairs,
especially statute fairs for the hiring of farm ser-
vants, are held within their districts; and subdivi-
sion officers should take care that parties are
constantly on the look-out in the neighbourhood of
,railway stations, works of local improvement, or
manufactories, where they are likely to meet with
persons:in search of employment ; or when stationed
near the camps of instruction or in garrison towns,
recruiting parties should be present at all reviews
of the regular troops, and elsewhere should attend
all assemblageo of Volunteers for inspection, or for
competition at the various county rifle associations,
which are sure to draw together numerous idlers,
from among whom good recruits are often to be
obtained. It is impossible in a memorandum of this
sort to allude to all the detailed duties of a recruiter
—they must be welt known to those who have
charge of districts; but the above are some of the
most important; and it is incumbent upon officers of
subdivisions by theirown personal energy and super-
vision to ascertain that none of them are neglected by
those specially selected and withdrawn from regi
mental duty in order to be placed on the recruit
ing service, and who should be made to under
stand that their continuance in an employmen

wbich is always popular, and for which useful men
can always be found, will depend solely on their
own zeal and industry, as manifested in the num-
ber of good recruits whom they send in for exami-

nation. But it is not alone to the recruiting dis.
tricte that t he Fieid-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief

looks for the means of maintaining the numerioa;
efficiency of the army ; he relies solely on the zeal
the esprit de corps, and the active exertions of corn.

manding officers of regiments in concerting mea-
sures for raising recruits at their own Headquarters.
He is under the impression, however, that at the
present moment there may be a disposition in some
instances to reject men 6ft. sin. who offer to enlist
at the hcaequarters of regiments; but he trusts
that after this notice commanding officers will not

suffer a single recruit otherwise eligible to be turned
away merely because he does not come up to a
preconceived notion of what looks most imposing
in the ranks, thus sacrificing numbers to appear-
ance, when it is well known that it is not the
biggest man whose endurance of bodily fatigue
under the knapsack on the march or.at work in the
trenches is the greatest.

"Recruits may frequently be raised at the head-
quarters of a regiment by sending the band or
drums and fifes to parade the town on market days
and fair days. There is another mode of raising

recruits which in former days was attended with

much success, and which his Royal Highness would
like to see reverted to, and that is that officers on
leave of absence at their home should exert them-

selves to obtain recruits for their own regiments
Should an officer by means of personal local jute.

rest succeed in raising a batch of recruits, his Royal
HighneEs would approve of their being posted to
his own company should he desire. The Field-
Marshal Commanding-in-Chief is fully sensible of
the zeal with which the recruiting department of
the army has always been actuated, and is satisfied
that as soon as the present state of things shall
have become generally known, the vacancies now
existing in the ranks will speedily be filled. A
copy of this order is to be in possession of all super-
intending officers."

Major Reilly's battery of the B brigade Royal
Horse Artillery yesterday left head-quarters, Wool-
wich, and commenced their march for Aldershott,
passing the night at Richmond and resuming their
march this morning. They were to quarter for the
night at Chertsey, and arrive at their destination
to-morrow evening. The battery consists of Major
Reilly, 0.8. (recently Aide-de-Camp to General
Dacres), in command ; Capt. Newbolt, Lints. Mur-
dock and Gorges, and 176 non-commissioned officers
and privates, with their gang and equipment com-
plete, to remain at the camp for the season. Lieut.-
Col. Michell's battery of the same brigade will foi-
l_

OW, also for Aldershott, this morning by the same
_ . _

route. The officers commanding the battery are
Lieut -Col. Michell, Capt. Ravenhill, Lieuts. Le
Grice, Stirling, and Jackson; Assist.- Surg. Symons,
and a similar number of men. The head quarters,

consisticg of Col. Sir David Wood. Capt.Whioy-
at", Quartermaster Handford, and Surg. Combe,
M.D., will leavo Woolwich at the same time this
morning for Aldershott, and take up their station

there fur the summer.
The Aurora, 35, screw steam frigate, 2,5,58 tone,
400 horse power, Capt. Sir F. L. M'Clintock, sailed
from Sheerness yesterday for Plymouth, where she
will embark a detachment of the 60:h Rifles for

Ireland.
The Locust, paddlewheel steam tender, Master in
command Reuben Harvey, was taken on the grid-
iron, Sheerness dockyard, yesterday, to repair the
copper on the bottom of the vessel, and to examine
the condition of Lumley's patent rudder. The rudder
is found to be in admirable working condition, equal
to what it was when fitted 18 months ago.
The Scout, 21, screw steam corvette, 1,462 tons,
400 horse power, is in the large basin, Sheerness
dockyard, undergoing a thorough repair of boilers,