The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-15 00:00:00

THE FORTIFICATIONS OF CORFU.

A letter, dated Corfu, Jan. 25, has the follow

n~•_

" There is nothing further to report on the progress made
in dismantling the fortifications. General Wynne, of the
Engineers, is confidently expected to arrive from England
by the next steamer with the full instructions on the sub-
ject. A board of officers is ordered to meet to report upon
the disposal of the military stores, and to decide what shall
be sent to England, Gibraltar, or Malta, and what are to be
sold upon the spot.
" I understand that it bas been decided that Vido and
Fort Abram alone are to be demolished, and that the
guns only are to be removed from the Citadel and Fort
Neuf. It is not at all improbable that this decision has been
come to, and, although I do not vouch for its truth, I have
every reason to believe the information to be correct. Both
the Citadel and Fort Neuf, in their present state, would be
useless for defence, and the opinion is generally entertained
by military men that they could not be held for a single
hour against the fire of modern artillery. Possibly, out of
deference to the opinions of the lonians and Greeks, it is
intended not to interfere with them further than remov-
ing the guns, and they may certainly be so left with per-
fect safety. Fort Abram, however, has just been repaired
at an expense of £30,000, and it ranks next in impor-
tance to Vido, with which, however, it can scarcely be
compared, It is the westernmost of the fortresses, facing
the harbour or roadstead on the north, and having a glacis
on the south and west sides ; it would no doubt be able to
make a very respectable resistance. Fort Neuf lies to the
east of Fort Abram, from which it is separated only by a
road leading to the suburb of Manduchio. It also faces the
harbour on the north, overlooks the town on the east, a d
has a glacis running round the remaining two sides. Be-
tween the last named fort and the citadel lies the town of
Corfu, at the extreme cast of which it is situate. It is built
on a large rock jutting out into the sea, having two peaks,
on the westernmost whereofsis the apparatus for the signal-
ing of vessels, and the view from this point I's one of the
best to be obtained in Corfu. The Citadel is separated from
the mainland on the west by a ditch which is spanned ty
a drawbridge. It occupies a commanding position, and
forms a very prominent and beautiful object. In it aro
the general's house and officers' quarters, the hospital, the
military church and school rooms, powder magazines, &C.,
and commodious barracks for a large number of troops.
It is furnished with every appliance for cleanliness and
health, wad as a depot for soldiers, for which purpose it is
now used, it is highly desirable, but, as previously stated,
both it and Fort Neuf would be of little avail in modern
warfare."

FALL OF RAILWAY ARCHES.—On Friday evening,
about nine o'clock, the inhabitants of Brixton were
greatly alarmed by a sudden loud and dead sound, which
was soon ascertained to have proceeded from the falling in
of 17 or 18 acres of the Smith London Railway, now in
course of erection—the whole extent of the line crossing
above the Chatham and Dover Railway, from the Green
Man, Cold Harbour lane, to the Barrington road, being
entirely destroyed. We do not hear of any personal in-
jury having occurred,