The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-26 00:00:00

and Military Intelligence,

' The contract for the new and extensive range of
bal:rack buildings in course of erection at Chelsea
for the Guards having to expire in the month of
Jane, 1865, the greatest activity now prevails in
the works at the rear of the barracks. It will bel
remem'oered that the pile of buildings erected in the
Romanesque style, and having a frontage in the
new road leading to the Chelsea suspension bridge,
.was finished and opened for occupation about 12
months ago, since which time the erection of the
church and schools, gymnasium, ball and raquet
courts, washhouses, regimental and barrack stores,
workshops for the tailors, shoemakers, and careen-
lure, &c., canteen, prisons, and dwellings for the
married soldiers, has been commenced and is now
being rapidly pushed forward. The dwellings for
the married soldiers are divided into three separate
blocks of buildings closely adjoining each other, and
modern improvements to insure the health and con-
venience of the soldiers and their wives and families
have been introduced into them. The rooms are
lofty, airy, and well lighted. Adjoining these
blocks of buildings is the church, the foundations
stone of which was laid a short time since, and
which, when completed, will be consecrated by the
Chaplain-General of the Forces. The building,
part of which will be appropriated to the purposes
of a school for the education of the children of the
soldiers, and also for such of the soldiers as may not
be able to read or write, will contain sittings for
800 men. It is being
built with light brick, Port-
land stone, and granite. The gymnasium is being
covered with a roof surmounted by a glass tower.
The internal portion of the roof will be of stained
wood, and the,necessary apparatus will be fitted on
principle. The ball and raquet
Mr Maclaren s
courts, which adjoin the gymnasium, have also a
roof covering, and will be fitted up with the latest
improvements. The prison is a detached building,
and contaics 24 cells for solitary confinement. The
canteen, the erection of which has just been finished,
is situated at the rear of the barracks. It will be
provided with billiards for the men, and one part
of the building is assigned for the non-commissioned
eflicers, and the other for the privates. It is esti-
mated that the whole range of building covers an
area of about 16 acres. £120,000 haste already been
'voted by Parliament for the works, and the pro-
b able cost will be £150,000. Mr George Morgan,
of Danes-inn, Strand, is the architect, and Mr
Riggs, of Lambeth, the builder.
The reinforcement for the Ist battalion of the 12th
Regiment, the 43i Light Infantry, and the 6th
ct lmpany of the Royal Engineers, that were to have
le ft Chatham some time back to augment the corps
serving in New Zealand, have been detained at that
garrison in consequence of the required amount of
tonnage not having been taken up for them. It is
not possible they will embark for their destination
until the ensuing month.

Among the moat important of the improvements
now in progress at Chatham for extending the naval
establishments at that port, which were inspected
by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on
the occasion of their recent visit, is the enlarge•
meat and extension of the Royal Marine Barracks.
Owing to the comparatively limited space at the
barracks for the officers and men of the Royal
IVallrines at their headquarters, Chatham, it has been
:cessary for some time past to quarter a portion of
th.e, men cf that division with the troops of the Line
ir/ the infantry barracks, an arrangement which is
o bviously attended with many inconveniences. To
:remedy these, as well as to prevent anything ap-
proachiog overcrowding in the barrack-rooms, the
'present buildings are being enlarged to more than
double their present size, by which additional
accommodation will be provided for 1,000
men. This has been effected by the erec-
tion of entirely new barracks, but the buildings
have been so arranged that they in effect form

e. continuation of the present barracks, which are
.thus enlarged and made to accommodate more than
double the number for which they were originally
intended. A portion of the structure has already
been completed by Messrs. Foord and Sons, the
Admiralty contractors, and is now occupied by the
Marines. In addition to the quarters for the non•.
commissioned officers and privates, a commodious
block of buildings is also about to be erected for the
ofn2zrs of the division. In order, at the same time,

to enlarge the present rather confined parade-
ground, the row of houses occupied as field-officers'
quarters, and some of which are used as offices, will
be taken down and the barrack square thrown open
to the public road, which, by an arrangement come
to between the Board of Admiralty and the local
Board of Health, is to be diverted to allow of the
original plans being fully carried out. In order to
provide the required quarters for the officers of the
division, a portion of Chatham Dockyard is to be
taken in, and suitable residences for the subaltern
careers erected at the extreme western end of the
yard, on the site of the master ropemaker's house,
which the workmen have already commenced taking
down. The public roadway leading to the New-
stairs, which intersects the Marine barracks and the
dockyard, is to be bridged over to allow of commu-
nication with the barracks and the quarters in the
yard. The grand division offices, commandant's
offices, pay, adjutant's, and other offices will at the
same time be removed into a suitable building, and
all brought together under one roof. The improve.
meats now being carried out, as well as those in
contemplation, will, on their completion, make the
Royal Marine establishments at Chatham the most
perfect of their kind in this country.
The following movements of troops were an-
nounced at Woolwich on Wednesday :—The head-
quarters of the 4th brigade garrison Artillery, in
command of Lieut,-Col. Anderson, C. 8., and two
batteries (the A and B) commanded by Lieut.-Col.
Barry, C. 8., and Lieut.-Col. Turner, are under
orders to leave Aidershott on Tuesday next, passing
the night at Hounslow, and march into Woolwich
garrison on the following day. The sth (Northum-
berland) Fusileers, in command of Col. W. C. Master,
C. 8., now stationed at the Tower, are under orders
to proceed to Woolwich ; and the 13th brigade
Royal Artillery, now at Woolwich, in command of
Col. Travers, will probably go to Dover and relieve
the 2d brigade Royal Artillery, in command of Col.
Maclean, under orders to embark about the middle
of September for the Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena,
and the Mauritius. Her Majesty's iron troopship
Orontes, 2,812 tons, and 500-horse power, has been
appointed for the conveyance of the brigade to their
station.

Major-General Ward; C. 8., commanding at
IVoolwich, paraded the whole of the troops in gar.
rison in dismounted
,order in front of the Royal
Artillery barracks, and made a careful inspection of
the men and their accoutrements on "Wednesday.
The General was attended by Brigade-Major Hay ;
Capt. Nangle, Deputy-A3sist.-Quartermaster-Gen.
Captain Williams, Aide-de-Camp, and the officers
commanding brigades and battalions.

Oa Tuesday iNfr.Westley Richards's experimental
gun, manufactured in the Royal gun factories,
Woolwich., was fired at the proof butt, with a view
of testing and organising the breech-loading appa-
ratus, which consists of a block and plunger. The
charges were respectively 101 b. and 151 b. of powder,
and a shot weighing 1191 b. After the second round
it was found necessary to suspend further proceed-
ings, in order to make some slight mechanical al•
teration, on account of the block having expanded,
83 as to render a continuation of the proof a matter
of difaeulty. The escape of gas is effectually re-
medied by Mr Westley Richards's well-known felt
cup attached to his charges of powder, and which
Was succe"fullY used yesterday. The length of the
guns is 17 feet, and the weight 9 tons. After the
alterations the gun will be fired two additional
rounds, when the charges will be increased 51b. of
poev each. Major Freeth, Inspector cf Ordnance,
•
and other officers of the Royal Artillery were in at-
tendance, as Weil as I'd r Richards himself. The
rAling of the gun is of the polygroave system, and
the materials find general princple of the gun were
spoken of as being good. The gun is stamped as
made of "Firth" steel, and the breech portion is
overlapped and strengthened with a wrought-iron
covering, termed " a jacket."
Admiralty instructions have been received at
Woolwich urging the construction of Mr Reed s ex-
perimental ship Pallas to be completed with all pos.
sible expedition. Additional hands have been placed