The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-17 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

Earl de Grey and Ripon, Under-Secretary of
State for War, accompanied by Major- Gen. A.Tulloh,
Director General of Ordnance, yesterday paid an
official visit to the several departments of the
Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.
The *Woolwich division of Royal Marines as-
sembled yesterday on parade, in full dress, to wit-
ness the distribution of medals and gratuities
awarded by the Lords Commissioners of the Admi-
ralty to the following soldiers for long service and
good conduct, viz. :—Serg.-Major G. Smith. medal
and £l5, 22 years' service; Colour-Serg. J. Uod-
frey, medal and £l5, 21 years' service ; Privates
Thomas Perry and George Viney, each a medal
and £5, 21 years' service. The medals were pre-
sented by Col. Mitchell, who addressed the reci-
pients in appropriate terms.
The Government having decided on enlarging
and extending the present ordnance stores and
gun-wharf at Chatham, to meet the increasing re-1
quirements of those establishnients, an important
application from the War-office was yesterday
submitted to the Chatham Local Board of Health,
through the Royal Engineer Department, request-
ing the sanction of the Board to the Government
acquiring the public road leading from High-street
through Globe-lane to the drawbridges passing
over the trenches, and skirting the buildingknown
as the match-house. The purpose is that the Ord-
nance stores may be extended as far as one side of
the public thoroughfare known as the Military-road,
including the adjoining plantation, the Government
thus adding to the enclosure an additional Six acres.
In return for the road and land thus ceded to the
Government the War Department proposes to hand
over the Military-road, now belonging to the Crown,
to the public of Chatham; in addition to which it
would construct a new roadway leading from Med-
way-street into the Military-road, besides giving
the public some other advantages. The application
on the part of the authorities gave rise to consider-
able discussion at the board, the majority cf the
members considered it desirable that every facility
should be given the Government for increasing
their establishments, provided they would gran
the town a site on which to erect a townhallurti.
other public buildings, now greatly needed.
mately it was decided to refer the applicationded to a
_
committee, and that a special meeting of the Board
be convened to take the proposal of the Government
I into consideration.
A number of non-commissioned officers were
yesterday despatched from the head-quarters of the
Royal Engineers, Chatham, to various districts, for
the purpose of raising men for that branch of the
service, which is much below its proper strength.
The young meu required for the Royal Engineers
are skilled mechanics, printers, surveyors, engra-
vers, and phozographers.

FIRE ON BOARD THE GREAT BRITAIN.--About
eight t,'clock on Thursday evening the watchmen
connected with the Great Britain, lying in the Bramley
Moor Dock, discovered a dense volume of smoke issuing
from the hatchway of the cook's berth. Assistance being
promptly at hand, in about an hour after the alarm was
given the fire was effectually subdued. The damage dons
was tr;vial. How the fire originated is unknown.

GREAT EXECUTION.—A despatch from St. Paul,
Minnesota, states that about 38 Indians, condemned
for taking part in the massacre, were hung at Mankato on
the morning after Christmas- day, and that " the gallows
were so constructed that all fell at one." The despatch
adds,"4lllpassed off quietly."