The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-07 00:00:00

THE ARMY RELIEFS.

(From the Army and Navy Gazette.)
Although it is, perhaps, somewhat premature to
speculate upon the reliefs of the year which has just
commenced, and although many exceptional cir-
cumstances may occur to vary materially the pro-
gramme that would be carried out in the absence
of disturbing causes, there are yet some moves cf
regiments so palpably pointed out by the require-
ments of the service, that we do not run much risk
in looking over the roster and predicting the more
likely of the changes. In the first place, the
authorities very wisely adhere to the plan of carry-
irg out the Indian relief regularly, and in July
we may expect to see one regiment of cavalry and
five of infantry despatched to the East. In all pro-
bability the 18th Hussars will proceed to the Mad-
ras Presidency to relieve the 17,h Lancers; and the
Ist battalion 1 1 th, 2d battalion 12th, 58th, and
45th to Bengal, to relieve the 48th, 71st, 52d, and
81st. The 2alh, et Bombay, will also be relieved
either by a battalion from the Colonies or by the
26th from England. Although in strictness it is
not the turn of the 26th to go abroad next after the
45th, yet the intervening regiments-the Ist bat-
talion .10th 86th, 324, 84th, 78th, and 29:h-
-came last from India, and the 26th from Ber-
muda; and this circumstance ill no doubt
weigh in favour of having the 26th sent to
India, although it returned to England a couple
of months after these corps. The break up of the
St. Helena Regiment will oblige us to send a wing
to the island, and we are rather short at tree Cape.
In all likelihood a regiment would be cent out to be
divided between these two stations, and if so, the
Ist battalion of the 10th, now in Ireland, stands
first for this duty. It is not likely that any other
regiment will go abroad during 1864. The cession
of the lonian Islands in April will place four extra
battalions at our disposal, and they will about suffice
to fill the place of corps on other stations which
have a fair claim to relief. There are, for instance,
the Ist battalion 14th at Jamaica, the Ist battalion
21st Fusiliers at Barbadoes, the 39th at Bermuda,
all of which went abroad early in 1854, and have
been a long time on their present stations. The
fourth battali';n released from Corfu might be made
available to bring back one of the battalions of the
Guards sent out on special service in 1861, but now
detained on something like ordinary colonial duty.
There are three line battalions in Canada-the 62d,
Ist .battalion 17th, and 63d-which having gone
abroad in 1854, in strictness ought to come home
in 1864; but when we compare the nature of their
service and the circumstances of their prolonged
absence with those of the 65th and 70th in
New Zealand, they have no very serious ground
of complaint. On the other hand, the Guards,
although ready and willing for service in the field,
are not unnaturally somewhat dissatisfied at being
kept doing colonial garrison duty, and the relief of
one battalion, which is now possible, could not
be objected to. We know not which of the bat-
talions now in Canada has the first claim to return;
both came from Portugal in 1828, both went to
America on the same day in 1861 ; and we are
merely echoing a surmise in saying that the Grena-
diers stand before the Scots Fusiliers for relief. We
have lately had considerable changes among the
Mediterranean stations-nearly one-half of the gar-
risons of Malta and Corfu having just changed places
-and we may assume that the battalions thus re-
moved will not be speedily disturbed. The 2d bat-
talion of the 7th, the 4th battalion Rifle Brigade,
the 2d battalions of the Bth, 15th, and 234, and the
100th, would thus appear unlikely to be affected by
the coming changes. The four battalions that have
been longest on the Mediterranean station have not
been so moved ; each of them has had two stations
for some time, and we doubt not but that they will
now be sent across the Atlantic. One would go to
British North America, one to Bermuda, one to
Barbadoes, and one to Jamaica. Taking them in
order we may thus expect to see the Ist battalion
25th sent from Malta to Canada (or perhaps to
Halifax or New Brunswick), allowing one of the
regiments here, the Ist battalion 15th or the 2d
battalion 17th, to fill the place of the Guards bat-
talion in Canada ; the 2d battalion of the 2d
Queen's, from Gibraltar to Bermuda, relieving the
39th ; the 2d battalion 3d Buffs, from Gibraltar to
Barbadoes, relieving the Ist battalion 21st Fusiliers ;
and the 2d battalion 6th Regiment, from Coriu
to Jamaica, relieving the Ist battalion 14th. We
should thus have the remaining three battalions
from Corfu to take the place of the 25th at Malta
and the 24 and 3d at Gibraltar. In all probability
the 2d battalion of the 9th would go to Malta, and
the Ist battalion 9th and 2d battalion 4th to Gib-
raltar, thus completing the Mediterranean, West
Indian and North American arrangements for this
year. Beyond those coming from India we see no
immediate prospect of any of the regiments in the
East being brought home., The corps of the Cape,
Ceylon, the Mauritius have not been long enough
on foreign service to entitle them to a turn of home
service for some time to come; but in New Zealand
there are some regiments whose detention abroad
can only be justified by the very urgent demands
of the war with the Maoris. Thus the 65th went
out in 1846, the 70th in 1849, the 43d, just gone on
from India, in 1851, the 40th in 1852, the 75th in
1853. The 68th, too, possess a strong claim to
relief, owing to the fact of their having been only a
few months in England when they were suddenly
despatched out to India ; but all these regiments
must wait for the conclusion of the war before they
can expect to see England again.
Our home changes during the year are likely to
be tolerably numerous. The Irish establishment
is rather short ; the three battalions-Ist battalions
19th and 21st, and the 36th Regiment-not having
been adequately replaced. When five or six more
come to be sent abroad, it is apparent that we must
send a tolerably large number of regiments across
the Channel. In all likelihood the 78th Highlanders,
41st, 49th, Ist battalion 60th Rifles, 53d, let bat-
talion Bth, 61st, and 2d battalion Ist Royals, will
leave for the sister isle in the course of the year,
their places taken by regiments from Aldershot, and
by those now on the eve of sailing from India-the
Ist battalion 13th, 74th, and 69th-and by the regi-
ments from the West Indies and Bermuda. It is
very likely that one of these corps, instead of going
to Ireland, may be sent to Glasgow to take the place
of the 41st, end that a regiment from Shorncliff, the
sth Fusiliers, or 83d " County of Dublin," may go
to Ireland. The 92d Highlanders and 85th Light
Infantry are, we believe, the only regiments at home
who have not yet gone through a course of camp
instruction; the former will come up from Edin-
burgh to Aldershot, and will very probably be suc-
ceeded in the Scotch capital by the 74th, shortly
after they have landed in England. The 85th will
doubtless also be sent to Aldershot.
With respect to the cavalry reliefs, as we have
said, the 18th Hussars are certain to go to Madral
in the course of the summer to take the place
of the 17th Lancers at Secunderabad ; but the
latter regiment will not be home till early in 1865.
The Bth Hussars may be expected from India in
the course of the present spring, and very likely
they will be quartered at Exeter. Two regiments
are likely to be brought over from Ireland, and
two sent in their place. The 15th and 4th Hussars
are those to come over, and one of them will no
doubt take the place of the 3d Hussars in Scotland.
The 16th Lancers are, in strictness, the first cavalry
regiment for service in Ireland; but, inasmuch as
they are for India in 1865, it is not likely that the
expense and trouble of sending them across the
Channel for one year's service will be incurred.
Under these circumstances the 9th and 12th Lancers
are the corps most likely to succeed the 15th and
4th Hussars on the Irish establishment. The Scots
Greys and 14th Hussars will come up from Bir-
mingham and Manchester respectively to Aldershot,
in place of the 13th Hussars and Carabineers. Wo
shall, no doubt, as usual, have a fine cavalry force
at the great ciemp this summer, and it is probable
that the 2d Life Guards, Carebineers, Royal Dra-
goons, Scots Greys, 9th and 12th Lancers, and the
13th, 14th, and 18th Huesaro, will all be at
Aldershot for a greater or less period.

DR. ANDREW REED wrote the following epitaph
for himself:—" I sprang from the people; I have lived for
the people—the most for the most unhappy ; and the people,
when they shall know it, will not allow mo to die out of
their loving remembrance."