The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-03 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The following farewell address to the troops at
Aldershot was issued by Lieut.-Gen. Sir J. L. Pen-
nefather, K.C.8., in a divisional order on Friday :
"Aldershot, Sept. 29.
" Lieut.-Gen. Sir John Ponnefather cannot leave Alder-
shot without one word of farewell to his troops. Upwards
of five years ago the lieut.-gen. received the Aldershot divi-
sion from Lieut.-Gen. Knollys in a high state of efficiency,
discipline, and order. It has been his anxious desire to
maintain it in the same condition, as well as to give effect
to the numerous improvements which have since taken
place in the kind consideration for the benefit and comfort
of the troops on the part of his Royal Highness the Field-
Marshal Commanding-in-Chief and the Secretary at War,
and liberally sanctioned by the Government. If Sir John
Pennefather has succeeded in these objects it is to be attri-
buted to the support and assistance he has received from
the general officers, the officers, both staff and regimental,
in all the departments, each according to his temperament
and knowledge of war, and to the high tone of soldierlike
feeling pervading the ranks, both among the non-commis-
sioned officers and soldiers. The lieut.-gen. requests the
general officers, the officers of all positions, and the troops

to accept his best thanks for their conduct, and his cordial
wishes for their future honour and prosperity.—By order,
E. NEWDEGATE, Lieut.-Col., A.A.G."

Orders have been received at Chatham garrison
directing the following officers to be held in readi-
ness for embarcation to join the service companies
of the 2d battalion of the 10th Regiment in India,
viz., Lieut. J. Carr, Ensign G. F. T. Parker,
Ensign E. B. Burnaby, and N. P. O'Gorman.
Alterations and improvements suggested during

her Majesty's recent visit to the cavalry barracks
at Spital, in the suburbs of Windsor, are being fast
completed by the contractors, Messrs. Myers and
Sons. It is expected that the wing which has been
partly rebuilt and re-arranged will be ready for oc-
cupation by the troopers of the Ist Regiment of
Life Guards (who in the meanwhile have been liv-
ing under canvas in the rear of the barracks) by
about the end of this month. The length of the
altered wing is 227 ft. 6in., and the height about 34ft.
The stabling for the chargers, as before, occupies
the ground floor of the building, at each end of
which quarters for the non-commissioned officers
have been erected. Above the stables there are two
floors, on each of which there are six large rooms,
each about 28ft. long by 40ft. wide, those on the
lower floor being about 12ft., and the apartments
on the upper 16ft. Bin. high, thus much loftier than
on the occasion of the Queen's visit to the barracks.
Each room will accommodate 14 troopers. Plenty
of light and ventilation has been provided, the three-
light windows, both back and front, having 12ft.
openings. The ventilation of the rooms is effected
by five air shafts. Three of these admit a supply
of pure air into the apartments through iron
gratings in the walls. The foul air is carried
away by two square grated wooden funnels
placed near the ceiling, from which they hang
close to the wall and communicate with a
shaft leading to an opening in the roof. Tw o
capacious verandahs, with thick slate floorings, 7ft.
wide, supported by light iron pillars, with ornamen-
tal balconies of the latter material, have been erected
in front of the building facing the barrack-green, and
extending to the non-commissioned officers' quarters.
They will afford a ready means of access to the differ-
ent rooms on the floors. At the back of the various
apartments are rooms for washing. The contrast be-
tween the quarters which have been altered and the
opposite wing, which remains untouched, is very
marked. Besides the improvements already carried
out at these barracks, others are, it is under-
stood, contemplated at Spital by the military autho-
rities. The Infantry Barracks at Windsor are to be
greatly extended, and the old alms-houses in Sheet-
street have just been pulled down to make way for
the new buildings.
The deaths of the following officers have been offi-
cially reported at the War-office since Sept. 1: Gen.
Sir J. Fergusson, G.C.8., Colonel of the 43d Light
Infantry Regiment. Lieut.-Gen. 11. W. Gordon,
Colonel Commandant Royal Artillery. Major-Gen.
W. C. Anderson, Royal Artillery; J. M'Duff, C. 8.,
and F. Meade. Col. C. Rogge, C. 8., Royal Artillery.
Lieut.-Col. J. R. Hawkins, Royal Artillery. Majors
W. 11. Devon, Royal Marines ; G. Bayly and V. 11.
Mairis, 7th Royal Fusiliers. Capts. W. Robinson, 2d
battalion 19th Regiment; E. J. Stokes, 39th Regi-
ment ; J. Sealy, 4th King's Own Regiment; 11. llol-
linsworth ; F. Comte de la Ville, Roel's Regiment ;

and T. Gough, paymaster, Rifle Brigade. Adjutant
A. E. Stabb, Ist battalion 16th Regiment. Lieuts.
G. P. Alston, Royal Artillery ; J. Emmett, instruc-
tor of musketry, Ist battalion 17th Regiment, H.W.
Hearne, 44th Regiment; R. S. Airey, 73d Regiment,
F. Benthall, 3d West India Regiment : and W. H.
Buckley. Quartermasters P. F. Foley, 2d battalion
21st Fusiliers ; W. Jones, Ist `battalion 22d
Regiment ; and T. Walker. Deputy-Commissary-
Generals Osborn and Spurrier. Assist. -C ommissary-
Gen. Beech, D eputy-Assist. -Commissary- Generals
Dashwood and Ingram. Inspector-General of
Hospitals J. Forrest, M.D., C.B. Assist.-Surgeon
Malarky, 27th Regt. Principal Purveyor Wreford.
Official intelligence of the deaths of the following
officers has been received at the Admiralty since
July 1 :—Admiral of the Fleet, Sir F. Austen,
G.C.B. Admirals H. Meynell, M. White, and W.
H. Smyth. Vice-Admiral G. Woolcombe. Capts.
P. Cracraft, C. 8., S. Wreford, R. Mann, J. Tudor,
R. Streatfield, J. F. Lascelles, J. Eager, and G.
Hillier. Commanders C. T. Dench, H. Hawkes,
J. B. Grove, H. Lawless, W. W. Oke, W. Brown,
E. Steele, W. Somerville, T. Simpson, R. R. Sayer,
H. P. Steele, C. W. Rawdon, E. Beavan, P. P.
Cotgrave, S. Stirling, and R. Hodges. Lieuts. A.
Luckcraft, R. S. Chisholme, H. C. Wogan, G. R.

Keating, and P. J. Lucas. Sub.-Lieuts. J. H. F.
Owen and R. B. Trollope. Staff-Commander R.
B. Gregory. Surgs. D. Saunders, C. D. M'Carthy,
R. Evans, J. Strang, M.D., R. Runciman, W. Ross,
M.D., J. Greenish, and J. Smith. Assist.-Surg. C.
Mortimer. Paymasters G. Lupridge, C. E. Phil-
lips, J. Garby, and R. Wilson. Chief-Engineers
W. Wotton and J. C. Grach. Royal Marines.—
Major-Gen. J. Ashmore, and Second-Lieut. J. S.
Lamborn.

The screw steam troopship Orontes, Capt. Hire,
with troops from Portsmouth, which arrived at Ply-
mouth on Thursday, landed supernumeraries on Fri-
day, embarked additional troops and some seamen
on Saturday, and in the afternoon left the Sound
for China.

The Racoon, 22, screw frigate, Captain Count
Gleichen, discharged her powder and shell yester-
day morning at Spithead, and afterwards weighted
her anchor and steamed into Portsmouth harbour
for docking and refit.

Capt. A. C. J. M'Meekan, First-Lieut. L. G.
Rodney, First Lieut. H. B. Isaacson, and 90 non-
commissioned officers and men of the Chatham di-
vision of Royal Marine Lightl
to
Infantry,
the lefthead-
quarters yesterday, and proceeded
Govern-
ment rifle range at Milton to undergo a course of
ball practice prior to embarcation.
requestßoAchtetshteergiven
nn odfiretetheiocnistyfo.orf
tiAdmofirathltey hcoarr giatvl
one of the steam dredging machines employed in
Chatham harbour to be towed up the river, near
Rochester-bridge, to be employed in dredging and
deepening the river at that spot. The soil dredged
up from the bed of the Medway is used in making
the best kinds of cement, and the whole of that ob-
tained by the Admiralty dredging machines is em-
ployed in the dockyard extension works, Chatham.
It is with peculiar satisfaction that we notice an
improvement in the official Navy List,stsjivat
theissuneadmfoers
the last quarter. In previous Navy

of sub-lieuts. have been given simply with the dates
of their seniority, and the number of the ship in
which they may have been serving at the time. In
the new List there is given, in addition, the number
of marks by which each officer obtained his class of
certificate in seamanship, gunnery, and navigation,
the list of names being headed by an explanatory
paragraph, stating that " in the case of officers who
have passed the six yearly examinations in navigation
the numbers obtained are given instead of the class of
certificate. The numbers are, maximum, 270." In
this list we find Mr. Hugh Cuthbert Dudley Ryder,
with 255 marks for navigation, standing at the head
of the list in point of merit, followed byMr. Charles
Saville Broome, with 243 marks, in the same cate-
gory of efficiency; Mr. Henry Compton Aitchison,
239 marks ; Mr. Francis Hay Chapman, and
Mr. Cecil Montague Tumor, with 233 marks each ;
Mr. John Llewellyn Hcane, with 230 ; Mr. Archi-
bald Hamilton Duthie, with 226 ; Mr. E. F. Kep-
pell, with 224 ; and others lower down in number,
until 3,2, and even only 1 mark is obtained.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held on Friday at Aberdeen ; Mr. J. Duncan
in the chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The Sun, was taken as read.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said he was glad to say that the traffic was
improving, although it had not produced so much
as they could have desired, especially to meet the
claims of the B preference shareholders. It was,
however, better than in the preceding half-year.
The B shareholders would now have a dividend
equal to 1k per cent. for the past half-year, being a
little more than was paid for the previous half-year.
He hoped that during the current half-year they
would see the resources of the line, in respect both
of goods and passengers, so well developed that the
preference shareholders would have a much better
dividend than at present. The difficulties of the
company had been considerable, the reduction in
the traffic had been so much that it would have re-
quired more than ordinary management and im-
provement to enable them to give the full dividend
to the preference shareholders. In the course of a
very few half-years he trusted the holders of B
shares would be placed in the position they all de-
sired. The goods traffic had greatly increased, and
the passenger traffic, notwithstanding the great re-
duction in the fares, had produced less of a defi-
ciency than might have been anticipated. The de-
ficiency of £1,600, from the loss of the mail ser-
vice could not be made up, as compared with the
corresponding half of 1864. That was, in fact, a
permanent loss. With regard to the Denburn
Valley line they had expended £61,000 out of the
£lBO,OOO which the company would have to contri-
bute to that line, and it would be 18 months before
it would be open for traffic. The directors had done
what they could towards carrying out the recommen-
dations of the Committee of Investigation. They had
made arrangements by which they would obtain the
return, at a future period, of the £12,000 subscribed
to the Montrose and Bervie Railway, and also
by which they would offer a saving of £lO,OOO in
the construction of the Strathspey Junction Works.
They now expected to have a bridge as well as a
connecting line between Abernethy and Boat of
Garten for about £15,000. This would not only be
an advantage to the Highland line, but also to the
Strathspey line, of which the company held
£170,000, or nearly the whole of the stock. This
and the Keith and Dufftown line ought, in his opi-
nion, to be amalgamated with the main line. The
Formartine and Buchan line, in which the com-
pany had invested a large sum, would probably
yield a dividend on the ordinary stock for this year
of lf per cent. The 5 per cent. preference stock of
this company was held by the Great North of Scot-
land Company, and the very circumstance of that
company being able to pay 11 per cent. on its ordi-
nary stock would increase the value of the prefe-
rence stock issued.

Mr. MILNE seconded the motion for the adoption
of the report, which was agreed to.
Mr. Burgess was elected a director in the room of
Mr. Rowell, resigned, and Mr. W. Leslie was
elected to fill a vacant seat at the Board ; the divi-
dends recommended in the report were agreed to,
and a vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the
proceedings.